ELKINS, W.Va. -- Charleston Ponds's jumper with 1.2 seconds to play handed West Virginia State's men's basketball team just their fifth loss at the hands of the Davis & Elkins Senators since 1998. Second chance points devastated the Yellow Jackets, with just two offensive rebounds gathered by the Yellow Jackets on 36 missed field goal attempts. State scored zero second chance points while D&E gathered nine offensive boards and scored 12 points on them.

State drops to 6-8 while Davis & Elkins improves to 6-9. Both teams are now 3-5 in Mountain East Conference competition.

Arthur Cox scored 13 points for the Yellow Jackets and gathered four rebounds and two steals. Nate Mims and Jae Slack each contributed 12.

Nicolas Silva led all scorers with 19 points for the Senators.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair with neither team gaining a decisive edge. Silva opened the scoring for Davis & Elkins with a three-pointer, and Giles responded for WVSU with a triple of his own. Cox's layup gave WVSU an early 10-8 lead, but Emmanuel Oladeru's inside scoring for Davis & Elkins tied the game at 12-12. Miguel Martinez scored seven first-half points to keep WVSU close, while Silva led Davis & Elkins with 13 points, including two three-pointers. Late contributions from Kerem Sariaslan and Ben Gilliam helped Davis & Elkins take a 44-40 halftime lead. Both teams shot efficiently, with WVSU at 51.9% and Davis & Elkins at 54.8%.

The second half saw Davis & Elkins extend their lead to 10 points early, with Silva and Gilliam combining for multiple key baskets. WVSU fought back, as Mims and Slack contributed 14 points in the half. Aymeric Toussaint added eight points off the bench, including a pair of layups that cut the deficit to four midway through the period. Sariaslan and Oladeru answered for Davis & Elkins with clutch baskets in the paint. Mims brought WVSU within one with a three-pointer at the 1:02 mark and then took the lead with 12 seconds left with an open layup by Cox but Ponds hit a contested jumper with 1.2 seconds left to secure the 80-79 victory for Davis & Elkins. Despite the loss, WVSU outshot Davis & Elkins from three-point range in the second half, converting 50% to the Senators' 36.4%.

State returns to the Walker Convocation Center for a 4:00 pm tip against the West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats on Saturday, Jan. 18.