ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men’s basketball team closes out its two-game road stretch with a trip to the state of Alabama for a meeting versus Jacksonville State on Tuesday, Nov. 22. Game time between the Phoenix and the Gamecocks is set for 7 p.m. EST at Pete Matthews Coliseum.
HOW TO FOLLOW
• Tuesday’s game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
• Listen to 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 6:30 p.m. EST
• 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 by following @ElonMBasketball.
TICKETS ON SALE
• Season tickets are now on sale for $170 for men’s basketball.
• Single-game tickets are now on sale! Single-game tickets begin at $15 for men’s basketball.
• Fans are able to purchase a book of 10 ticket vouchers for $75. These vouchers are redeemable for a ticket to any Elon men’s or women’s basketball regular season home game. Use all 10 for any one game, or use one voucher for 10 different games. Fans will also receive an Elon mini autographed basketball from the head coaches. These tickets represent a 50 percent savings for men’s basketball tickets and a 25 percent savings for women’s basketball vs. single-game prices.
• Ticket vouchers must be redeemed for a reserved seat ticket prior to entry. This can be done at the Schar Center Box Office during regular business hours (M-F, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.) or starting 90 minutes prior to tipoff.
• For more information, visit ElonTickets.com or call the Elon Ticket Office at 336-278-6750.
THE MATCHUP
• Tuesday will be only the second game in the series between the Phoenix and the Gamecocks.
• Jacksonville State won the first meeting between the two schools last season, 93-81, at Schar Center.
• Jalen Gibbs scored a career-high 40 points for Jacksonville State, the most for the program in Division I history. Gibbs hit 10-of-12 from three-point range as the Gamecocks as a team knocked down a blistering 71 percent (17-of-24) from beyond the arc.
• Zac Ervin led the way for the Phoenix, finishing the game with 18 points and four rebounds on 5-of-11 shooting from long distance. The Gate City, Va., native led five Phoenix players in double figures.
LAST TIME OUT
• The Phoenix played at in-state rival NC State on Saturday, Nov. 19 for its first true road contest of the season. Despite making a few rallies in the second half to overcome a double-digit halftime deficit, the Phoenix ultimately fell to the Wolfpack, 74-63, inside PNC Arena.
• Torrence Watson led the Phoenix with 20 points, a season-high for the St. Louis native. Watson also paced the Phoenix with eight rebounds while knocking down 4-of-8 from deep.
• Freshman Max Mackinnon added 11 points for the Phoenix in his first start of the season. The Brisbane, Australia, native also contributed six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.
• The Phoenix and the Wolfpack met for the first time since 2011 and the 31st time overall. NC State improved its all-time record over Elon to 23-8.
LAUNCHING THE BILLY TAYLOR ERA
• Taylor was named the 19th head coach of the Phoenix on April 15, 2022. Taylor arrived to the Phoenix after spending the past three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa.
• Prior to working with the Hawkeyes, Taylor spent five years as head coach at Lehigh University followed by six seasons as the head coach at Ball State University and three at Belmont Abbey College.
• In his time at Iowa, the Hawkeyes ranked as one of the top offensive teams in the country, ranking fifth nationally in scoring average in both 2021 (83.7) and 2022 (83.2). The program also led the country in assist-to-turnover ratio in both seasons.
• Taylor was a two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year (2003, 2004) and led Lehigh to both the regular season and tournament titles in 2004, earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament that season. He also guided Ball State to the 2009 MAC West Division crown.
SCOUTING ELON
• Watson leads the Phoenix in scoring at 13.2 points per game while also hauling in a team-best 5.8 boards per contest. Over his last three games the senior is averaging 15.3 points per game.
• Sean Halloran is averaging a team-best 32.8 minutes while putting in 11.6 points per game, second on the team. The Orlando, Fla., native leads the team in assists with 23 (4.6 APG) which is the second-most total in the CAA. His 12 steals are also the most in the CAA (2.4 SPG).
• Mackinnon has been averaging 10.7 points per game in his past three games, shooting nearly 52 percent from the field (14-of-27). Overall, he is averaging 8.2 points per game during his young rookie season.
• Sam Sherry made his first career start on Saturday at NC State. The Mechanicsburg, Pa., native had eight points in 23 minutes while also grabbing five rebounds.
• On the defensive side of the ball, the Phoenix is third in the CAA in opposing three-point percentage holding opponents to .312 percent shooting.
OPENING TIP
• Elon welcomes back seven letterwinners from last year’s team including five upperclassmen. Among the notable returners for the maroon and gold includes graduate student Torrence Watson and senior Zac Ervin. Both players are the leading returning scorers for Elon at 9.2 and 7.1 points per game, respectively.
• The Phoenix also welcomes back redshirt Jerald Gillens-Butler, who hopes to return to form after being named an All-Colonial Athletic Association honorable mention prior to last year. The Orlando, Fla., native appeared in only 10 games last year after missing most of the prior season due to an injury.
• A pair of graduate transfers will look to make an immediate impact for the Phoenix this season. Sean Halloran arrives to the Phoenix after an outstanding four-year career at Belmont Abbey. The Orlando, Fla., native finished as the all-time career assist leader with the Crusaders while helping the program to back-to-back Conference Carolinas Tournament Championships and three straight NCAA tournament appearances. He rounded out his career averaging 14.4 points per game as a senior and concluded his career with 1,422 points.
• Another graduate transfer, John Bowen III, brings size to the Phoenix front line at 6-foot-9 and 215 pounds. The Bladenboro, N.C., native last played at UNCW in 2019-20 and appeared in 28 out of 32 games. Prior to UNCW, Bowen III was a teammate of Halloran’s at Belmont Abbey and averaged 8.9 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per contest in 2018-19 while starting 27 of 28 games.
• A pair of freshmen will also look to make an impact for the maroon and gold in 2022-23. Max Mackinnon is a 6-foot-5 swingman from Brisbane, Australia, where he won back-to-back gold medals with the U20 Australian National Team. He was also named an All-Star 5 at the Australian National Championship.
• Another freshman, LA Pratt, is a 6-foot-5 guard from Columbus, Ohio, who was a three-time All-4A Team member and three-time conference champion at Lincoln Park High School. He scored over 1,000 points in high school and helped guide the program to two WPIAL Championship appearances and two State Semifinal appearances.
SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE STATE
• The Gamecocks are 1-2 on the season so far after last playing at Alabama on Friday, where the Crimson Tide earned a 104-62 victory.
• Jacksonville State is coming off a 21-11 campaign in 2021-22 and won the Atlantic Sun regular season championship en route to an NCAA Tournament berth. The Gamecocks were tabbed to finish third in the 2022 ASUN Preseason poll.
• The Gamecocks carry a 77.7 points per game average while shooting .443 percent from the field and 40 percent from downtown. Three players are scoring in double figures for Jacksonville State led by the 13.0 points per game averages of senior Skyelar Potter and junior Amanze Ngumezi.
• Potter is shooting over 50 percent from the field (.519) and also from three-point range (.529) with his team-best nine treys. Senior Demaree King is third on the squad in scoring at 12.3 points per game and leads the Gamecocks in minutes played at 30.3.
• Head coach Ray Harper is in his seventh season at the helm of the Jacksonville State program. He has a record of 120-78 with the Gamecocks.
UP NEXT
The Phoenix returns home to host Radford after the Thanksgiving break on Sunday, Nov. 27, at Schar Center. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
— ELON —
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