ELKINS, W.Va. – The Davis & Elkins College men's basketball team gave Charleston, one of the best teams in the Mountain East Conference all they wanted Saturday afternoon inside the McDonnell Center.  In the end Charleston would get the win 80-71.

D&E came out of the gates hot, connecting on 13 of their first 15 field goal attempts.  The Senators led 28-23 with 9:11 to play in the opening half.  They would extend their lead to nine (41-32) at the break.  Charleston would open the second half on a 17-2 run to give them a 49-43 lead and force Coach Daniel Mondragon to call a time-out.  The Senators responded well after and cut the UC lead to one.  That would be as close as D&E could get.  Charleston would recover and sneak out of Elkins victorious.

Breland Walton led the Senators.  Walton had 24 points and eight rebounds.  Ben Gilliam continued his late season push for MEC Freshman of the Year honors.  Gilliam scored 19 points and grabbed five rebounds, shooting an efficient 9-12 from the floor.  Charleston Ponds finished with 14 points followed by Cortney Walton seven.  Bryton Bissainthe led the team in assists with five.

Charleston was led by veteran big man Lamont McManus.  McManus went for 22 points and seven rebounds.  He was also key for the Golden Eagles win by knocking down 6-7 free throws.  Jeremiah Keene finished with 17 points followed by Keith Williams 16.

The Senators drop to 6-18 overall and 4-14 in the MEC.

UC improves to 19-5 overall and 14-4 in the league.

The Senators return to action Wednesday night hosting Glenville State.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30pm inside the McDonnell Center.