ELKINS, W.VA. – In a rescheduled contest from earlier in January, West Virginia State Men's Basketball headed north to face Mountain East Conference foe Davis & Elkins, downing the Senators 81-72 Monday at the McDonnell Center.

WVSU moves to 9-5 on the season and 4-3 in conference action, while D & E drops to 4-8 (2-5 MEC).

The first half was dominated on the black and gold side by graduate student Jeremiah Moore, tallying nearly half the points in the frame himself, with 18 on an 8-for-10 performance. Moore finished the contest with 30 points and 14 boards, his second double-double in as many games.

Sophomore Noah Jordan nearly tallied a double-double of his own, posting 12 points and eight rebounds while classmate Anthony Pittman also added 12. Graduate student Glen Abram hauled in 15 points, while freshman Dwaine Jones dished out seven assists and tallied seven rebounds.

Once again State was dominant in the paint, registering 44 points in the paint for the second-straight contest.

Both squads traded points and the lead early into the contest, neither gaining an advantage for the first 10 minutes of the half. Tied 23-23 with 7:21 remaining in the half, an Abram jumper followed by layups from Moore and Jordan and a three from Ernest Jenkins boosted State to a 32-26 advantage.

Four consecutive free throws for the Senators trimmed the Yellow Jackets' lead to just two points with four minutes to go.

A quick pair of lay-ins from Moore, followed by a trey from freshman Devin Perry kept WVSU in control at 39-33, but a 6-0 run from D&E closed out the half at a 39-39 stalemate.  

Moore continued his hot shooting to start the second half, adding four points in a 5-0 run to break the tie and put WVSU ahead 44-39. Three consecutive baskets from Jordan featured in an 11-3 scoring run pushed State to its biggest lead of the contest at 55-44 with 13 minutes remaining.

The next minute featured quite the excitement, with a dunk from Moore and a block from Jordan.

What ensued next was a 14-4 scoring run for Davis & Elkins, narrowing the gap to just four points on a 67-64 before Moore added some cushion on the his own put back, bringing State to 71.

Moore's second-chance basket began a 10-4 scoring run for the Yellow Jackets that featured eight points from Pittman to keep State with a double-digit lead at 79-69.

Pittman surged in the final minutes of play, tallying 10 points to close out the Yellow Jackets' nine-point margin.
 
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The Yellow Jackets remain at home Wednesday, hosting Notre Dame College with a 7:30 p.m. tip. Live stats and video will be available. The Falcons enter the contest at 9-5 and are coming off a narrow defeat at No. 23 Fairmont State Saturday, falling 85-83.