ELKINS, W.Va. – Battling back from a 22-point second half deficit, Davis & Elkins worked its way to within five during an 83-74 defeat to Charleston (W.Va.) on Wednesday night inside the McDonnell Center.
Sam Rolle IV led Davis & Elkins (2-3, 2-3 MEC) with a game-high 24 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals while playing all 40 minutes. The second 20-point outing of his brief career, Rolle went 11-for-22 from the floor.
Charleston (W.Va.) (3-2, 3-2 MEC) placed five in double figures, including a team-high 20 points and 11 rebounds from Eddie Colbert off the bench. Lamont McManus added 14 points and six boards, while Keith Williams (13), Seth O'Neal (12) and Shaun Monroe (10) also notched double digits.
Breland Walton just missed a double-double with 21 points and nine rebounds, while
Marcus Fleming secured a double-double behind 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Trading points to start the evening, the Golden Eagles widened their margin to 13 with 5:05 left in the first half. Rolle IV got D&E to within nine on a jumper from a steal. D&E trailed 43-32 at the intermission.
While Charleston maintained a double-digit lead for the first two minutes of the second half, D&E trimmed the deficit to nine after a B. Walton steal and go-ahead pass to Rolle IV, making it 47-38 in favor of the Golden Eagles.
The Senators turned up the intensity down the stretch, climbing back to within six on a Fleming free throw at 1:29. After two Charleston foul shots, B. Walton lined up a trey to make it 77-72. A Rolle IV jumper made it a five-point deficit (79-74) once again, but Charleston salted the game away at the foul line over the last 37 seconds.
D&E returns to the court on Saturday, January 23 for a 4:30 PM road tipoff against West Virginia State.
