WHEELING, W.Va. – With just seven players seeing the floor, Davis & Elkins men's basketball dropped an 84-71 road decision at Wheeling on Saturday afternoon inside the McDonough Center.
Junior forward
Breland Walton had a career day for Davis & Elkins (2-5) with 28 points and 16 rebounds. The fourth double-double of the season for Walton, he went 10-of-14 from the field in 35 minutes of action. Freshman guard
Sam Rolle IV added 19 points, five rebounds and four assists for D&E. Sophomore forward
Kyle Leslie posted 11 points and nine rebounds, while freshman guard
Gyasi Powell finished with 10 points.
Wheeling (2-4) received a team-high 23 points from Jordan Reid. Brent Price poured in 20 points and added five rebounds off the bench for the Cardinals.
A sluggish start saw D&E ahead 14-9 following a
Breland Walton layup with 11:58 showing on the first half clock. Leslie pushed the Senator lead to 17-9 after a three, but five unanswered points from the Cardinals made it 17-14.
Wheeling tied the score at 21 with a pair of foul shots and held the lead or were tied for the remainder of the opening half. A Brent Price layup handed Wheeling a 33-29 edge heading into the intermission.
A 6-0 run, which included two buckets for Leslie, vaulted the Senators ahead 35-33 with 17:19 left in the game. Walton converted a three-point play for a 38-37 margin before Jarrett Haines canned a three for a 40-38 Wheeling lead, an advantage the hosts would not relinquish.
A Price lay-in ballooned the Wheeling lead to 10 at 52-42 before the Senators chipped away. A bucket from Rolle IV made it 53-49 at 10:25 in favor of the hosts, the closest the Senators would come the rest of the way.
Davis & Elkins is back in action on Monday, February 8 against Notre Dame (Ohio). Tipoff from the McDonnell Center is slated for 5:00 PM.
