Elkins, W. Va. - Davis & Elkins closed the gap with a frenetic pace in the second half, but could not complete the comeback on Senior Day in an 85-74 loss to West Virginia State on Saturday at the McDonnell Center.

Following a tough loss against Charelston (W. Va.) on Wednesday night, the Senators were hopeful for a win against West Virginia State University on their Senior Day, honoring team manager Petar Vesic, Donte Doleman, Tyler Twyman, and Erkam Kiris.

Doleman was the top scorer of the night for the Senators, finishing with 26 total points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor. Kiris recorded a double-double behind a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with 14 points. Twyman put 10 points on the board, most of which were beyond the arc.

West Virginia State managed to keep the lead majority of the game and drew half of its points within the paint. Anthony Pittman paced the Yellow Jackets with18 points for the night. In total, six of the ten players on the floor for the night finished in double digits for WVSU.

Despite outscoring the Yellow Jackets in the second half, 44-41, the Senators struggled to string together key stops. WVSU shot 44% from the floor, but fired 10 more shots than D&E.

THE RUNDOWN

• West Virginia State (17-5, 11-5 MEC) - 85
• Davis & Elkins (6-18, 4-14 MEC) - 78
• McDonnell Center - Elkins, W. Va.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• West Virginia State got an early lead, scoring six points in the first two minutes of the game. Twyman answered with the first basket of the night for the Senators, putting them down just four with 17:37 remaining in the first. Throughout majority of the game, West Virginia State would answer back to the Senators when they scored.
• Going into the half trailing the Yellow Jackets 30-44, Twyman responded with the first basket of the half to decrease the deficit to 11 points. Soon enough, Doleman also fired home a three, trimming the deficit to nine at 46-35.
• Doleman dropped in the game-tying three with 14:00 left in the second half, knotting the score at 51. D&E attempted to climb back in front, but the Yellow Jackets spouted off a run of their own, ultimately increasing the advantage back to 12 with just under eight minutes remaining.
• In a tough last few minutes of the second half, both teams went scoreless for about two minutes. Surrendering 13 points over the last two and a half minutes, D&E resorted to fouling and fell 85-74.

GAME NOTES

• The Yellow Jackets pressured D&E throughout the night in the full court, converting 22 points off turnovers.
• Doleman dropped his second-highest scoring mark of the season, previously recording 31 points against Glenville State back on January 15.
• Much like D&E, West Virginia State will have a heavy dose of road games to close out the regular season.

UP NEXT

• Davis & Elkins hosts Concord on Wednesday, February 19 at 7:30 PM in the team's final regular season home contest.

 

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