FROSTBURG, Md. – Davis & Elkins took care of business to keep itself in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Tournament picture, holding off a final surge from Frostburg State in a 77-75 road win over the Bobcats on Wednesday night.
Senior guard
Donte Doleman had a game-high 22 points in 38 minutes for the Senators in a balanced effort. Senior forward
Erkam Kiris had his way inside with 19 points, eight rebounds and one block for the Senators, while
Mandela Baledrokadroka finished with a career-high 13 points and passed out eight assists.
Frostburg State sliced the D&E lead to one point on two occasions with under 30 seconds remaining as the potential game-tying shot attempt rang off the front of the rim to close the game. Daniel Alexander just missed out on a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds. Terry Kenner added 11 points and four assists, while Joe Adedayo posted 10 points in 11 minutes.
Myles Monroe and
Kyle Leslie added nine points each for the Senators, who shot 50% from the floor for the game.
THE RUNDOWN
- Davis & Elkins (8-19, 6-15 MEC) – 77
- Frostburg State (10-17, 7-14 MEC) – 75
- Bobcat Arena – Frostburg, Md.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Frostburg led for much of the opening portions of the first half, but the Senators answered back around the midway point of the frame. Kiris stuck the layup and made a foul shot to finish a three-point play for a 25-24 lead at 8:25.
- Leslie set his feet and canned a straightway three off a dish from Monroe for a 32-26 lead with 5:49 showing on the first half clock. Frostburg answered back, using six points at the charity stripe to move back in front, 36-34. D&E used a 7-1 run over the final 2:18 of the first half, which included a key bucket for Leslie as time expired, pushing the Senators to a 41-37 lead at the intermission.
- Baledrokadroka buried an open look from long range at 18:11, kickstarting a 14-2 surge for the Senators, capped by a four-point play from Kiris to hand the visitors a 55-43 lead with 15:58 remaining.
- Two foul shots from Doleman ballooned the D&E lead to its largest of the night at 14 points (61-47) with 12:05 left. Frostburg responded with the next nine points, including driving layup for Bo Schene to cut the deficit to five, before Tyler Twyman shifted momentum back to D&E with a three from the right corner for a 64-56 lead.
- Consecutive hoops for Leslie expanded the Senators lead back to 10 before a final 11-2 Frostburg run narrowed the deficit to one point. Baledrokadroka made the backend of two foul shots for a two-point lead at 77-75 before a pull-up jumper clanged off the front rim for the Bobcats as time expired.
GAME NOTES
- Frostburg entered the game with the potential to earn a spot in the conference tournament with a win, but will now be faced with a tough task in the form of a road matchup with Fairmont State to close the regular season.
- Much like the first meeting, the second matchup between Frostburg and D&E came down to the wire, with key free throws down the stretch proving to be the difference.
- The Senators move to 5-4 in games decided by five points or less this season.
- D&E held a 20-6 edge in points in the paint over the course of the first half. Frostburg battled back in the second half, bringing the final points in the paint tally to 32-30 in favor of the Senators.
- An extended 11-2 run over a three-minute span trimmed the Frostburg deficit to one at 75-74 with just around 30 seconds remaining.
- In addition to his career-best 13 points, Baledrokadroka was just one assist shy from tying a career high, previously set against Glenville State (9) on January 15.
UP NEXT
- Davis & Elkins caps the regular season with a road contest at West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday, February 29 at 4:00 PM.
