ELKINS, W. Va. - Davis & Elkins men's basketball used some clutch foul shooting down the stretch to hold off a charging West Virginia Wesleyan side in the second half during an 83-76 home triumph at an energized McDonnell Center on Saturday afternoon.
Donte Doleman registered a team-best 21 points and grabbed for rebounds for the Senators, while
Erkam Kiris posted 17 points of his own.
Patrick Wilburn was active on both ends of the floor with 14 points and six steals.
Myles Monroe notched ten points and grabbed five boards in 24 minutes off the bench.
Dusan Vicentic poured in a game-high 29 points for West Virginia Wesleyan and added 12 rebounds for a double-double effort. Luka Petrovic added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Bobcats.
D&E went a perfect 6-of-6 at the foul line down the stretch.
THE RUNDOWN
- Davis & Elkins (6-12, 4-8 MEC) - 83
- West Virginia Wesleyan (6-12, 5-7 MEC) - 76
- McDonnell Center - Elkins, W. Va.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- D&E raced out to a 7-0 advantage to open the game and pushed its lead to 15-6 after a foul shot from Kiris. The Senators went cold after the initial media timeout of the afternoon as West Virginia Wesleyan answered with a run of its own to trim the deficit to 18-15 with 11:25 left in the opening half. Tyler Twyman buried a three from the left wing for a much-needed basket and Monroe canned a triple with 8:47 remaining in the first half for a 27-21 lead.
- Two foul shots and a lay-in for Wilburn pushed D&E in front by 10 as the Senators carried a double digit lead the rest of the half, going to intermission up 44-32.
- Doleman stretched the D&E lead to 17 with a trey at 14:51 and made a jumper for an 18-point advantage around six minutes later following an Elliot White three. The visiting Bobcats would not go quietly, as they spouted off a 15-3 run to make it a six-point game at 69-63 with just under six minutes left.
- Doleman made an acrobatic and-one to move the edge back to nine and Wilburn finished a fastbreak after a steal from Mandela Baledrokadroka for a 77-66 margin.
- Todd Clay took the air out of the building with a jumper and Daylin Lee burried a timely three to make it 77-76 in favor of D&E with just 45 seconds left. The Senators cashed in at the foul line to maintain the lead and grab the victory.
GAME NOTES
- Meeting for the first time since the 2016 season, the first installment of West Virginia Wesleyan and Davis & Elkins as conference opponents in the MEC was one to remember as Nick Patella returned to Elkins for the first time since becoming the head coach of the Bobcats.
- Wilburn has had a strong week for D&E, recording a career-high six steals.
- Doleman has registered 20 or more points eight times this season.
- Saturday was an important win for the Senators against a team above them in the MEC standings.
- D&E wore gold shoelaces in its Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer game.
UP NEXT
- D&E will hit the road to square off with a potent West Liberty team on Wednesday, January 29 at 7:30 PM.
