ELKINS, W. Va. - Although being limited to seven active players, the shorthanded Davis & Elkins Senators came together behind senior
Donte Doleman's immaculate performance to stun the visiting Glenville State Pioneers, 79-73, and snap a six-game losing streak in the process on Wednesday night in the McDonnell Center.
A quick start from Doleman gave the Senators an early lead, but the potent offense of the Pioneers quickly picked up. A three-point play, which including an electrifying dunk from
Erkam Kiris tied the game at 11, and two exchanges of layups would knot the game at 15, before a 10-0 run gave the Pioneers an early advantage.
Tyler Twyman would reignite the scoring with a three-pointer, and the Senators would answer back with their own run, tying the game at 25 on Kiris' second dunk of the first half. Glenville State looked to pull away late in the first half, but a feisty Senators squad kept the deficit within seven at the break.
Early in the second half, both teams maintained scoring pace, as the Senators held the deficit within ten during the first ten minutes of the half. Twyman would hit his second three-pointer of the game to cut the lead to three at 59-56. Back-to-back Pioneer threes would extend the lead to nine, but the Senators answered back quickly with Doleman's shot and
Mandela Baledrokadroka's three-point play that negated the brief Pioneer run.
After cutting the deficit to two points with two minutes to play, Doleman gave the Senators their first lead since early in the first half with a lengthy three-pointer. Pioneer shooting came up cold down the stretch, and the Senators held on for the 79-73 victory.
Doleman would finish with a career-high 31 points, while
Myles Monroe added 15 points. Phil Bledsoe finished with 21 points, but did much of his damage at the foul line. Hegel Augustin posted 19 points and seven reboudns for the Pioneers.
THE RUNDOWN
- Davis & Elkins (5-10, 3-6 MEC) - 79
- Glenville State (8-7, 5-4 MEC) - 73
- The McDonnell Center - Elkins, W. Va.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Doleman started out the scoring with the first four points of the game, but the Pioneers answered back quickly taking an 11-8 lead.
- After knotting the game at 15, Glenville State went on a 10-0 run into the second media timeout of the first half.
- D&E would quickly strike back, going on a ten-point run of their own to tie the game at 25 with less than eight minutes remaining in the first half.
- After exchanging blows for most of the second half, seven unanswered D&E points narrowed the margin to a three point game with ten minutes left.
- Doleman's explosive performance continued with a clutch three-pointer with three minutes remaining to make it a 71-69 game.
GAME NOTES
- The Senators posted an incredible defensive performance despite being limited in numbers, stymying Division II's third most potent offense, averaging nearly 100 points per game and holding them to 73, their second lowest total of the season.
- Glenville State took advantage of any Senator foul, shooting a perfect first half from the charity stripe.
- Both teams struggled from beyond the arc in the first half, but were much more effective from long range down the stretch.
- Kiris posted his third double-double of the season, finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
- Baledrokadroka set a career-high with nine assists.
UP NEXT
- D&E will take to the road on Saturday, continuing Mountain East Conference play against Concord at 4:00 PM. in Athens, W. Va.
