ELKINS, W.Va. -- Davis & Elkins delivered a 77-70 setback to undefeated and Nationally-ranked Fairmont State Tuesday evening in Mountain East Conference men's basketball action.

Prior to the contest, both teams were ranked in the top ten in the Atlantic Region by the Division II College Sports Communicators (D2CSC); Fairmont State at #2 and D&E at #10. The Falcons were also voted as the #15 team in the country in the D2CSC poll.

It took nearly three minutes for a scored, but then Fairmont State jumped out to a 6-0 lead five minutes into the contest. D&E tied the score at 8 and the teams played a back-and-forth first half that had the score knotted five times with three lead changes. D&E went into halftime with a 29-27 lead.

Both teams struggled a bit from the field in the half. D&E shot 10 of 31 (32.26%), while Fairmont State went 11 for 33 (33.33%).

D&E led throughout the second half and led by as many as 16 with just 4:22 remaining in the contest. The Senators survived a late scare by Fairmont State as the Falcon drew within 4 with :33 remaining but following a made free throw by Malachi Hampton and a pair of free throws by Charleston Ponds, D&E completed a convincing win, 77-70.

The Senators shot 51.72% (15-29) from the field in the second half, including 4 of 8 from three-point range. They also shot 14 of 18 (77.78%) from the free throw line.

D&E outrebounded Fairmont State 48-31 and held the advantage in points in the paint 32-26.

D&E was led by Sam Rolle IV, who scored 19 points after coming off the bench.

Hampton had his first career double-double, with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Tristan Starks scored 12 points and added 4 assists.

Clarens Pierre added 8 points, 12 rebounds, and a block.

Ponds scored 8 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.

Nicolas Silva added 8 points and 8 rebounds.

The win moves D&E to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the MEC. The Senators are one of three teams with unblemished conference records (West Liberty 5-0, 1-0 and Charleston 3-1, 2-0).

Up next:
D&E plays at Seton Hill following the Thanksgiving break on Monday, November 27. Game time is set for 6:00pm.