GAME NOTES: The Elon Phoenix are looking to start their first season as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association on a high note, and will have to battle with the Florida Atlantic Owls in a non-conference, season-opening clash Friday at Alumni Gym.

Florida Atlantic finished near the Bottom of Conference USA last season, ending the year with a 10-22 overall record and a 5-11 mark in league play. The Campaign ended on a seven-game losing streak, so a win in the season opener would be vitally important going forward.

Elon made the switch from the Southern Conference to the CAA in the offseason, and has some tough competition with which it must contend. In the SoCon last season, Elon finished with a respectable 18-14 overall record, adding in an 11-5 mark in conference play. But a turbulent offseason could shake things up for the Phoenix.

The two teams have met just twice on the court before, with Elon winning both of the matchups. In Elon, the Phoenix are 1-0. The last time these programs met was last season in Boca Raton, as the Phoenix came away with a 67-62 win.

FAU hired former Pistons head coach Michael Curry to replace 69-year-old Mike Jarvis in the offseason. He has the task of trying to put together a team that will not include Pablo Bertone (19.0 ppg). The good news is that four of the other top five scorers are back this season, including guard Marquan Botley (11.3 ppg, team-high 84 assists) and center Justin Raffington (10.1 ppg, 8.5 rpg). Botley had a strong freshman campaign in 2013-14 that the Owls are hoping turns into even more success now that he's experienced

Botley was the star in FAU's exhibition win over St. Thomas (Florida) last week. The guard scored a team-high 17 points and added two steals in the contest. Fellow guard Justin Massey netted 15 points, forward Kelvin Penn chipped in 11 and Maceo Baston came off the bench to score 10. Penn enters this season ranked second in school history in career blocked shots, so the big man will be a defensive factor in the post once again.

Elon had several very successful seasons in the Southern Conference before the school made the switch to the CAA. There should be a transition period allotted to the Phoenix, who return just two starters from last year's squad that won 18 games. Senior guard Austin Hamilton (6.2 ppg, 2.5 apg) and junior guard Tanner Samson (9.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg) are those two returning starters. In the offseason, four 1,000-point scorers departed from the program, including Lucas Troutman, Jack Isenbarger and Sebastian Koch.

Coach Matt Matheny has his work cut out for his this season as he tries to replace four of the best scorers in program history. The team was still able to post 90 points in an exhibition win over Emory & Henry last week, though. Five Phoenix players scored in double figures, led by a team-high 14 from freshman Dmitri Thompson. Christian Hairston and Elijah Bryant each chipped in with 12 points, while Samson and Ryan Winters scored 10 apiece.

The Phoenix fortunately don't have to contend with the stacked rosters of Delaware and Towson that plagued opponents in last year's CAA race, but there will still be some growing pains for Matheny's squad. The same goes for FAU, which has some talented players still left, but will have to get along without one of Conference USA's best scorers from a year ago.