ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men’s basketball team faces Harvard in the third-place game of the Asheville Championship on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m. inside Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville.
HOW TO FOLLOW
• Sunday’s game will be streamed live on ESPNU with Mark Neely and Tim Welsh on the call.
• 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 1:30 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 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
• Sunday will be the first-ever meeting between the Phoenix and the Crimson. Elon overall has a record of 5-7 against the Ivy League all-time with victories over Columbia (3-1), Princeton (1-1) and Dartmouth (1-1).
• Elon head coach Billy Taylor has a record of 11-10 all-time against the Ivy League including a 2-3 ledger against Harvard.
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon fell to ETSU, 77-64, in its opening game at the Asheville Championship on Friday night, Nov. 11. The victory improved the Buccaneers to 2-0 on the season while the Phoenix fell to 1-1.
• Graduate student John Bowen tied his career-high with 17 points while going 8-of-9 from the field. He also tied the team-lead with four rebounds.
• Zac Ervin was the other Phoenix player in double figures with 11 points. Ervin had three of the Phoenix’s five made three pointers in the game.
• ETSU had a 33-28 edge on the boards but both teams had six offensive rebounds. Max Mackinnon led Elon with five rebounds off the bench.
• ETSU improved to 4-1 in the all-time series against Elon in the teams’ first meeting since 2005 when both programs were members of the Southern Conference.
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.
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 HARVARD
• Like the Phoenix, Harvard is 1-1 on the season after falling 75-61 to Louisiana on Friday to open the tournament. The Crimson opened the 2022-23 campaign with a 68-63 victory over Morehouse College on Monday.
• Harvard went 13-13 a year ago and was 5-9 in the Ivy League. The Crimson was selected to finish fourth in the 2022 Ivy League Preseason poll.
• Forward Chris Ledlum is averaging 18.5 points to lead the Crimson. The senior had 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting versus Louisiana in its first game at the Asheville Championship. Ledlum led four players in double figures against the Ragin’ Cajuns.
• Tommy Amaker is in his 16th season as the head coach at Harvard. He has compiled a record of 265-153 during his time at the helm of the Crimson.
UP NEXT
Elon returns to Schar Center for a matchup versus North Dakota on Thursday, Nov. 17. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 7 p.m. with streaming available on FloHoops.
— ELON —
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