ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team opens play at the 2024 Jersey Mike's CAA Men's Basketball Championship on Friday, March 8 as the 11^th-seeded Phoenix (13-18, 6-12 CAA) faces No. 14 seed Hampton (8-23, 3-15 CAA) in the opening round at 4:30 p.m. at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, D.C.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• The game will stream FloHoops via a paid subscription with Matt Janus, Mack McCarthy and Karlie Smith on the call.
• Fans can also listen to the game on the Elon Sports Network from Learfield on The Varsity Network app.
• Longtime voice of the Phoenix, Taylor Durham, will be on the call with the pregame show beginning at 4 p.m.
• Links for the broadcast and live stats can be found on the Elon men's basketball schedule page at elonphoenix.com.
• Other in-game updates will be provided on Twitter/X by following @ElonMBasketball.
 
THE MATCHUP
• Elon and Hampton will meet for the second time this season and the third time overall in their series histories on Friday. The Phoenix has won both matchups versus the Pirates since the two became conference foes last season.
• The Phoenix took the most recent contest, 80-74, at Hampton on Jan. 27 earlier this season. Three players scored in double figures for the maroon and gold with Sam Sherry leading the way with 16 points. TK Simpkins added 15 while Max Mackinnon contributed with 14 points and a game-high seven assists.
• Elon overcame a seven-point deficit at the half, 39-32, to outscore the Pirates 48-35 in the second period. The Phoenix hit nearly 57 percent of its shots in the second half while also hitting 17-19 overall from the charity stripe.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Phoenix saw its Senior Day spoiled by Monmouth in its last game of the regular season last Saturday with the Hawks coming away with an 85-70 victory.
• Elon led at the halftime break, 40-32 and had a lead by as large as 15 in the second half, but could not withstand a Monmout rally in the second period.
• Simpkins led the Phoenix with 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting while also grabbing nine rebounds with five assists. Nick Dorn joined Simpkins in double figures with 11 points. Simpkins became the first Phoenix player to reach 30 points since Darius Burford had 31 versus Drexel on Feb. 19, 2022. It was a season and career-high point total for the Brooklyn, N.Y., native, who also matched his season-high in rebounds with nine.
• Elon honored five members of its program during pregame with the team honoring student-athletes Rob Higgins, JaDun Michael and Zac Ervin along with managers Michael Buccellato and Trey Herenda.
 
ERVIN, DORN RECEIVE ALL-CAA POSTSEASON HONORS
• Zac Ervin and Dorn were honored by the CAA as the league announced its 2023-24 Men's Basketball Postseason Awards on Thursday, March 7.
• Ervin earned the prestigious Dean Ehlers Leadership Award for his work in the classroom, on the court and in the community. The award is presented annually to the men's basketball student-athlete who "embodies the highest standards of leadership, integrity and sportsmanship in conjunction with his academic athletic achievement."
• Ervin becomes the second member of the program to receive the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award after Tyler Seibring did so in 2017-18. This is also the second straight major CAA award earned by Ervin, who was named the league's Scholar-Athlete of the Year last season.
• Dorn received All-Rookie honors, becoming the seventh player in school history to be named to the All-Rookie team in the CAA. The Charlotte, N.C., native ended the regular season averaging 9.5 points per game while leading the Phoenix in three-pointers with 59.
 
SCOUTING ELON
• Elon ranks in the top-five of the CAA in three-point percentage (2^nd, 35.7), points per game (4^th, 73.7), steals per game (4^th, 6.2), three-point attempts per game (4^th, 24.3), three-pointers made (4^th, 8.7), bench points per game (5^th, 24.61) and free throw attempts per game (5^th, 13.1)
• Three players are averaging double-digits for the Phoenix while three others are averaging over 6.5 points per game. Simpkins is leading the team at 13.6 points per game with the sophomore also pacing the squad in total assists with 86. During CAA play, the Brooklyn, N.Y., native is averaging 14.6 points per game while hitting 83 percent of his free throws.
• Over his last eight games, Simpkins is averaging 19.0 points per game while scoring in double figures in seven of those contests. He is shooting 45 percent from the floor while grabbing 5.9 boards per contest during that stretch.
• Mackinnon is second behind Simpkins in scoring at 12.3 points per game. The Brisbane, Australia, native is tied with Simpkins for the team-lead in rebounds at 4.7 boards per contest and is second to Simpkins in assists with 81. He has also knocked down 51 three-pointers on the season at a 38.1 percent clip.
• Sherry is just outside the double-digit average at 9.5 points per game. The junior is second on the team in field goal percentage (56.7) among players with 10 or more makes. Sherry's 32 blocks lead the team and rank seventh overall in the CAA.
• Dorn is also averaging 9.5 points per game. The Charlotte native is the team leader in three-point field goals with 59 while hitting 37 percent of his attempts from downtown.
• The Phoenix returns eight players from last year's roster for second-year head coach Billy Taylor. Elon was predicted to finish 10^th in the 2023-24 CAA Preseason Poll after going 6-12 in league play last season.
• Along with Mackinnon, other returning starters for the Phoenix include Zac Ervin and junior Sam Sherry. Ervin led the Phoenix in three-point makes last season with 61 while averaging 9.3 points per contest. The 6-foot-5 guard was third on the team in minutes per game (27.5) and assists (47).
• After averaging less than 10 minutes a game as a freshman, Sherry came on strong during his sophomore campaign. The Mechanicsville, Pa., native averaged 9.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game while blocking a team-high 25 shots. He also finished second on the team in field-goal percentage at 57.8 and ended the year with his first career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds versus William & Mary at the CAA Tournament.
• The maroon and gold also welcomes back three other veterans in senior JaDun Michael and sophomores Deandre Smart and LA Pratt. Michael played in 18 games with five starts, averaging 4.1 points. Pratt saw valuable playing time during his freshman season in which he started eight games while Smart gave the Phoenix valuable minutes off the bench before an injury cut short his season in which he averaged 9.0 points per game while 72.2 percent from the floor. Other returners on the Phoenix include sophomores Otto Luessenhop and Austin Williams.
•Elon welcomes seven newcomers to its roster for 2023-24. Joining the Phoenix are transfers Rob Higgins and TK Simpkins along with incoming freshmen Kendall Campbell, Nick Dorn, Isaac Harrell, Ned Hull and Savion Taylor.
• Among the notable newcomers include Higgins, a transfer from St. Francis Brooklyn College where he spent the past four seasons. A 6-foot-1, 179-pound guard from Middletown, N.J., Higgins tied for the team-lead in scoring this past season at St. Francis Brooklyn, averaging 11.3 points per contest.
• Simpkins is a 6-foot-4, 184-pound guard who was a member of the Northwest Florida State College program last season. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native appeared in 37 games for the Raiders, averaging 8.8 points per game.
 
SCOUTING HAMPTON
• The Pirates are 8-23 overall and posted a 3-15 ledger in its second season in the CAA. Hampton lost its last game, 85-73, at William & Mary, but defeated Monmouth 64-56 in its final home game last Saturday.
• Hampton is averaging 73.0 points on 43.2 percent shooting, including 32.5 percent from three-point range, with 37.0 rebounds, 12.9 assists, 5.9 steals and 3.6 blocks per game, while allowing 76.9 points on 43.8 percent shooting, including 32.0 percent from three-point range. The Pirates are connecting on 70.8 percent from the free throw line and rank 48^th in the nation in bench points per game at 25.55.
• Three players are averaging double-digit points for the Pirates with Kyrese Mullen leading the way with his 15.1 points per game. He is also the team's leading rebounder at 8.5 boards per contest. Tedrick Wilcox Jr. is second on the team with his 11.6 points per game average while leading the team with 53 three-pointers made. Jordan Nesbitt is third on the team at 10.7 points per game and is the Pirates' top playmaker with 100 assists.
• Edward Joyner, Jr. is in his 15th season as the head coach at Hampton. During his time with the Pirates, Joyner, Jr. has taken the Pirates to the postseason seven times as a head coach: three NCAA Tournament berths, one NIT invitation, two CBI Tournaments and one CIT appearance where the Pirates reached the semifinals in 2019.
 
PRESEASON PRAISE
• Sophomore Max Mackinnon received some preseason praise from the CAA as the Brisbane, Australia, native was named to the 2023-24 Preseason All-CAA second team on Oct. 19.
• The reigning CAA Rookie of the Year in 2022-23, Mackinnon is the Phoenix's returning leader in points (11.4 ppg), rebounds (5.1 rpg), assists (2.4 apg) and steals (1.1 spg). Mackinnon is coming off a rookie campaign in which he shot nearly 50 percent from the floor and was named CAA Rookie of the Week selection a league-high four times. He also led the program with three double-doubles and scored in double figures 17 times including four 20-point performances.
• Among Mackinnon's standout games last season included him scoring 19 points at No. 18/21 Indiana, the second-highest point total that a freshman has scored against the Hoosiers at that point of the season. He also scored a season-high 24 points while adding his first career double-double with 12 rebounds at High Point. He also added 20 points and a season-best eight assists at Northeastern while scoring 17 points with a career-best 13 rebounds at No. 22 College of Charleston.
 
UP NEXT
With a win, the Phoenix will advance to the next round to face No. 6 seed Delaware on Saturday, March 9. Game time is set for 8:30 p.m. and will air on FloHoops.