ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men’s basketball team heads to fellow Piedmont Triad rival High Point for a midweek matchup on Wednesday, Nov. 30. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the Qubein Center.
HOW TO FOLLOW
• Wednesday’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. with analyst Javik Blake.
• 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
• Wednesday will be the 177th time that Elon and High Point will meet on the basketball hardwood. It will be the fourth straight meeting between the longtime local rivals and the 14th time during the Phoenix’s Division I era.
• High Point owns a 95-81 all-time record against Elon and has won two of the past three contests including an 83-77 victory in Schar Center last season.
• Since joining the Division I ranks for the 1999-2000 season, Elon has a 6-7 ledger against the Panthers.
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon returned to its home floor to host Radford on Sunday, Nov. 27. The Phoenix played well in the opening half against the Highlanders, but struggled offensively in the second period to ultimately fall by a score of 69-53.
• Sean Halloran led the Phoenix (1-6) with 15 points while going 4-of-7 from behind the arc. Sam Sherry had career highs in points (13) and rebounds (seven) for the Phoenix while adding a pair of assists to his stat line.
• Torrence Watson was the lone other player for the maroon and gold in double figures with 10 points.
• Elon and Radford met for the first time since 2017 when the Phoenix took a 77-74 victory over the Highlanders at Alumni Gym. Sunday’s win moved the all-time series to 9-5 in favor of Radford.
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
• Halloran’s 12.4 ppg leads the Phoenix as the graduate student has come on strong over his last few outings. The Orlando, Fla., native made four three-pointers for the second time this season against the Highlanders and has had multiple three-point outings in four out of his seven games this year including four of the past five.
• In addition to being the Phoenix’s leading scorer, Halloran is also the maroon and gold’s top playmaker with a team-high 29 assists (4.1 apg). His 16 total steals are the most thefts in the Colonial Athletic Association and in the top 30 of the NCAA.
• Sherry’s career highs surpassed his previous personal bests in points (nine) and rebounds (five) with his performance against Radford. The Mechanicsburg, Pa., native was 5-of-9 overall from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe while making his third straight start.
• Watson added his team-best fifth double-digit scoring outing against the Highlanders and is averaging 12.0 points per game, good for second on the team. The St. Louis, native is also the Phoenix’s leading rebounder at 5.1 boards per game.
• 55 percent of Elon’s points this season have been scored by players who did not play in a game for the program last season (256 of 463).
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 HIGH POINT
• Boasting a 5-1 record, the Panthers enter Wednesday’s game against Elon coming off a 77-72 victory over Tennessee State last Wednesday at the SoCal Challenge Sand Division winning the tournament championship.
• High Point is in the midst of its first full season under head coach G.G. Smith. Smith previously served as the associate head coach with the Panthers under his father Tubby Smith since 2017.
• Coming off a 14-18 season a year ago, the Panthers were tabbed to finish fifth in the 2022 Big South Preseason Poll.
• Junior Jaden House leads the Panthers in scoring at 22.3 ppg while knocking down over 50 percent of his shots this season. The Richmond, Va., native was named the Tournament MVP of the SoCal Challenge Sand Division.
• Sophomore Zack Austin earned a spot on the 2022-23 Big South Preseason first team after being named the conference’s Freshman of the Year last season. This year, the Winston-Salem, N.C., native is third on the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game and second in rebounds (6.3 rpg).
• Redshirt sophomore Abdoulaye Thiam is second on the squad in scoring at 15.7 ppg and has knocked down a team-high 17 triples while shooting just over 40 percent from three.
UP NEXT
Elon hosts another fellow Triad rival, UNCG, at Schar Center on Saturday, Dec. 3. That game is set for a 4 p.m. tipoff.
— ELON —
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