PHILIPPI, W.Va. – Freshman standout
Sam Rolle IV poured in a career-high 31 points, grabbing six rebounds and handing out seven assists as Davis & Elkins men's basketball held off Alderson Broaddus for an 80-79 win on Thursday night at Rex Pyles Arena.
Trailing by three with 5:13 to go, Davis & Elkins (4-10) outscored Alderson Broaddus (6-9) by a 13-9 margin down the stretch to hold on for the one-point win. Josh Bradford drilled a three as time expired, but the Senators cashed in on two crucial foul shots from Rolle with six seconds remaining for a four-point lead prior to the final possession.
Breland Walton had his way in the low post with 24 points (9-15 FG) and 11 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season.
Gyasi Powell had 17 points for the guests, including a game-tying triple to knot the score at 70, while adding six rebounds.
Fable Burden III finished with five points and
Kyle Leslie chipped in three to round out the scoring for the Senators.
Alderson Broaddus, without Christian Miller-Caldwell, led by as many as nine in the second half. Zach Simpkins had a team-high 17 points and six rebounds for the Battlers and Coryon Rice finished with 16.
Davis & Elkins started the game strong, converting six of its first seven shots to take a 16-13 lead at the first media timeout of the evening. The score remained within a few points until Powell buried a triple for a 28-22 lead at 10:48.
A block from
Nate Vance set up a fastbreak lay-in for Rolle, ballooning the D&E lead to 10 at 33-23 at the 8:09 mark. D&E took a 45-40 margin into the intermission.
The Battlers surged ahead out of the locker room, 42-40, with a 7-0 run that forced a D&E timeout in the early moments of the second half. Walton finished an alley-oop chance to push the Senators back in front by one at 46-45.
Davis & Elkins used an 11-5 spurt to tie the score at 70, capped by a triple from Powell just before the final media timeout of the evening. Out of the timeout, Walton converted the bucket and foul shot to move D&E back in front at 73-70.
The Senators held on down the stretch despite one more push from Alderson Broaddus. Dalen Solomon and Bradford scored in the last 32 seconds for the Battlers, but the Senators never relinquished the narrow lead.
Davis & Elkins concludes the regular season on Saturday, February 27 at West Virginia Wesleyan at 4:30 PM.
