ELKINS, W. Va — In a pivotal MEC battle, the visiting Concord Mountain Lions held on despite a valiant Senator rally to knock off Davis & Elkins, 66-61, on Wednesday night inside the McDonnell Center.

After a quick start by D&E, Concord recovered to tie the game at 10 five minutes into the first half. A pair of Myles Monroe free throws handed the Senators a 16-15 lead, and Tyler Twyman sunk two three-pointers to put D&E up by seven. Concord clawed back to take a 29-28 advantage, and the two teams went back and forth through the remainder of the half, with the Mountain Lions leading 33-30 at halftime.

Erkam Kiris scored six-straight points for D&E to open the second half, putting the game within two, but Concord capitalized on missed shots by the Senators to pull ahead 48-39 with 13 minutes left. After taking an 11-point lead, their largest of the night, D&E went on a 6-0 run to push the deficit down to five. The Senators locked in late, as Kiris put in two more layups and Mandela Baledrokadroka helped out with one of his own, making the score 61-57 in Concord's favor with just under two minutes remaining. Baledrokadroka drove to the rim and added another layup to put the game within reach for the Senators, but D&E came up just short in a 66-61 result.

Kiris led all Senator scorers with 14 points, also finishing with a team-high nine boards. Donte Doleman also finished with double figures, with 10 points and five assists. Emre Yildirim added nine points and three steals on the night. Martin Kelly, Jr. led all scorers with 18 points for the Mountain Lions, adding 10 rebounds for a double-double.

THE RUNDOWN

• Concord (9-16, 6-13 MEC) - 66
• Davis & Elkins (6-19, 4-15  MEC) - 61
• The McDonnell Center - Elkins, W. Va.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Senators came out shooting as back-to-back three-pointers by Yildirim and Doleman put D&E up 6-0 early.
• Concord quickly responded, tying the game at 10 with 14:16 remaining in the first half.
• A pair of Twyman three-pointers gave D&E a 24-17 lead, but the Mountain Lions roared back towards the end of the half, regaining the lead 29-28 with two minutes to go in the half.
• A 7-0 run by the Mountain Lions in the second half propelled them to a 48-39 lead, but D&E would answer back with a run of their own to pull within five.
• A long Mountain Lion trey tried to be the momentum shifter, but the Senators rallied behind Kiris' inside presence to keep it a 61-57 game with one minute to go.
•  Effective fouling and missed free throws kept the Mountain Lions from scoring during D&E's 6-0 run between 3:51 and 12 seconds remaining in the game.
• Concord closed out the game by making five free throw attempts to finish the 66-61 final.

GAME NOTES

• Doleman finished in double figures for the sixth straight game.
• Yildirim set a career-high with three steals.
• Kiris fired in 12 of his points in the second half, not to be outdone by Concord's Martin Kelly Jr., who had 14 points after intermission. 
• Concord's 66 points was their lowest winning point total of the season.
• The win was an important one for Concord, which entered the evening in 10th place in the league standings. Moving to 6-13 in the league, the Mountain Lions have created two games of separation from Urbana and D&E. 

UP NEXT

• Davis & Elkins will take to the road to close out the regular season, heading to Glenville State for the first of three straight away games. Tip-off is at 3:00 P.M. on Saturday in Glenville.

 

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