ELKINS, W. Va. - Senior guard
Donte Doleman posted his third consecutive 20-point outing, recording 24 as Davis & Elkins fended off Wheeling for a 74-73 home victory in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play on Wednesday night.
In a game that featured seven ties and six lead changes, Davis & Elkins found a groove offensively in the second half, shooting 56% from the floor over the final 20 minutes. In addition to the stellar effort from Doleman,
Erkam Kiris posted 17 points and eight rebounds despite battling some foul trouble.
Myles Monroe added 11 points off the bench and
Kyle Leslie posted 10 points in 21 minutes.
Wheeling, which had its final attempt blocked by Monroe, had four players in double digits. Emmanuel Ansong dropped in 21 points in 34 minutes, connecting on eight of 15 shots from the floor, while Jay Gentry posted 19 points.
Many of the statistics were nearly identical, much like the final score in the back-and-forth contest, but Davis & Elkins held an 18-2 edge in bench points. The win is the second in conference play for the Senators, who avenge a narrow 76-74 loss in their last game against Frostburg State.
THE RUNDOWN
- Davis & Elkins (4-4, 2-1 MEC) - 74
- Wheeling (5-2, 2-1 MEC) - 73
- The McDonnell Center - Elkins, W. Va.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Buckets from Kiris and Teemu Tumanoff opened up an early 4-0 advantage for the Senators, but the visitors answered with the next seven points, including a three from Gentry for a 7-4 edge. The Senators tried to whittle away at the Wheeling first half lead, but timely three-pointers from the Cardinals kept them in front. Gentry hit another trey at 13:22 and Anson answered a Kiris layup with a three at 12:10 for a 13-8 lead.
- A pair of free throws from Monroe chopped the Wheeling lead to just two (23-21), and Tumanoff stuck a jumper with one second left in the opening half to send the Senators to the locker room down one at 34-33.
- The Senators took the led at 17:49 in the second half following a fastbreak layup from Monroe off a steal. The Senators kept a narrow lead until a layup from Doleman pushed the advantage to eight points at 56-48 with 9:17 left.
- Kiris stuck a three following a D&E timeout for a seven-point edge and the senior forward dropped in a layup the next time down the floor, helping the Senators balloon their lead to nine at 61-52.
- Wheeling trimmed its deficit to three following a Jarrett Haines jump shot, but once again Kiris was there for a timely bucket, converting a trey at 4:19. Ansong sliced the deficit to two with a fastbreak layup before hitting a jump shot and one with 48 seconds left to make it 74-73 in favor of the Senators. Davis & Elkins held serve defensively, denying a final look at the basket for the Cardinals with time winding down.
GAME NOTES
- Doleman continues to lead the way offensively for the Senators, pushing his season average to 17.3 points/game.
- The Senators hit on all cylinder from deep in the second half, converting 66% of their three point attempts.
- Davis & Elkins worked its way into the double bonus relatively quickly in the second half, forcing Wheeling to commit their 10th team foul about midway through the final 20 minutes. This helped the Senators hold a 19-10 advantage in free throw attempts in the game.
- Doleman and Emre Yildrim had a pair of blocks each as the Senators posted a season-high seven rejections in the win.
- Four players had two or more makes at the foul line, paced by a 3-of-5 effort from Kiris.
UP NEXT
- Davis & Elkins stays home on Saturday, December 7 for a conference matchup against 14th-ranked West Liberty beginning at 4:00 PM from the McDonnell Center.
- The Hilltoppers were defeated, 94-91, falling on a last second shot by West Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday night.
