BUCKHANNON - Raymont McElroy exploded for 48 points Saturday afternoon, leading Wesleyan to a 93-73 home victory over the Ohio Valley Fighting Scots.
"That is the highest total I have seen for one of our teams in my 26 years of coaching," Wesleyan head coach Jim Boone said. "Raymont was huge tonight."
McElroy did it in a variety of ways, drilling home long range threes, taking defenders to the rim off the dribble, and pulling up for mid-range jumpers. In all, he was 16-of-27 from the floor, including 6-of-10 beyond the arc.
Wesleyan led 34-25 at halftime and extended that lead to as high 15 early in the second half. But Ohio Valley produced an 11-2 run to cut the lead to six at 48-42. However, the Bobcats responded with an 11-3 run of their own that gained some separation. In the end, the only suspense was if McElroy would hit 50. His mid-court heave at the buzzer was on line but hit the back of the rim.
"We kept our heads when they made that run at us," Boone said. "We stuck to the offense and also had some key stops on the defensive end."
McElroy was complemented by Reggie Chambers, who produced 16 points and a game-high 10 assists, with Kelsey Williams recorded his sixth double-double in the last seven games, scoring 19 points and collecting 10 rebounds.
Austin Cunningham led Ohio Valley with 22 points with Kendall Allison tossing in 20. The Bobcats won the team rebounding battle, 38-31.
Wesleyan jumps to sixth in the league standings at 13-6 (9-6). Ohio Valley falls to 6-13 (6-10).
Women's game
Wesleyan 80, OVC 59
BUCKHANNON - West Virginia Wesleyan's women posted another strong defensive effort Saturday afternoon, locking down Ohio Valley in a convincing 80-59 victory over the visiting Scots.
Wesleyan held OVU to only 35.8 percent shooting from the field, and added to the effort by coming out plus-15 in team rebounding (50-35).
They also put four players in double figures, a show of balance that head coach Jackie DeVane had been looking for.
"We reminded them before the game how important it was to hit the boards tonight. They have a great rebounding team," Devane said. "And the getting some balance is huge for us this time of the season. We had a lot of different girls contribute, both in scoring and in rebounding."
While the superstar tandem of Lydia Bridenbauth and Jamie Kaufman were again huge, big nights also came from other areas. Wesleyan led 39-27 at the half, and managed to always be in control. Only the sharpshooting of Ohio Valley's Shelby Way kept the Scots in the game.
Bridenbaugh scored 17 points to lead the Bobcat scoring, with Kaufman producing another double-double. scoring 16 points and pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds.
The duo was complemented by Daria Abros'kina, who nearly turned in a triple-double, recording a strong stat line of 14 points, nine rebounds and a game-high seven assists.
Way led Ohio Valley's offense with 28 points behind five three-pointers.
Wesleyan (14-5, 11-3 WVC) elevates to the top of the league standing with the win. The Lady Bobcats will host Glenville State Thursday for a key WVC matchup between the top two schools in the standings.
