INSTITUTE, W. Va. - Leading in the first half against one of the highest scoring offensive units in the country, Davis & Elkins dropped a Mountain East Conference (MEC) road matchup to West Virginia State, 90-73, on Wednesday night at the Walker Convocation Center.
Donte Doleman led the charge offensively with 23 points for the third straight game, going 9-of-17 from the floor.
Emre Yildirim just missed out on a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds.
Myles Monroe added 12 points in 20 minutes.
The Senators converted just four trey balls against the Yellow Jackets and shot 44.3% from the floor.
West Virginia State placed four players in double figures, led by 17 points from Michael Seals. Frank Agyemang led the team with eight rebounds to go along with 12 points. WVSU outscored D&E 44-34 in the second half.
Within striking distance much of the first half, Doleman raced ahead for a layup to give D&E a 33-32 lead with 4:21 left before the hosts promptly responded with a 12-0 run. Yildrim ended the frame with a layup as D&E went into the intermission down by seven at 46-37.
Another Yildirim bucket made it a seven point game, but the Yellow Jackets pushed the pace of play with a 15-2 spurt to move its advantage to 20 at 65-45.
The Yellow Jackets continued to bury shots from deep, expanding the edge to as many as 27 to hold on for the conference win.
GAME NOTES
- Mandela Baledrokadroka handed out a team-high five assists, tying a season-high for the fourth time.
- WVSU got up and down the floor in a hurry, holding a 19-2 edge in fast break points.
- Yildirim recorded the first double figure scoring game of the season, tying a career-high from January 5, 2019 against Hillsdale.
- The Yellow Jackets used several big runs to pull away any time D&E got close. Part of that success came from the hosts ability to shoot from beyond the arc, including a 7-of-10 (70%) mark in the opening half.
UP NEXT
D&E returns to the floor on Saturday, January 11 when it hosts Charleston (W. Va.) at 4:00 PM from the McDonnell Center.
