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WHEELING -- Davis & Elkins' historic season will continue into the Mountain East Conference Tournament semifinals.
The sixth-seeded Senators (19-10) built a 23-point halftime lead and held off No. 3 the University of Charleston, 77-72, Friday afternoon in quarterfinal action.
D&E, which never trailed after taking an 8-7 lead just 4 minutes into the contest, faces Fairmont State at 8:30 p.m. today in the semifinals.
The second-seeded Falcons defeated No. 7 Glenville State, also by a score of 77-72, to advance.
West Liberty faces the winner of Friday's late game between West Virginia State and Notre Dame College in the first semifinal.
Leading 22-12, the Senators went on a 19-6 run over a 6-minute stretch of the first half to construct a 41-18 lead after a 3-pointer by Vadim Clanet with 2:37 left until intermission.
D&E maintained a 45-22 advantage at halftime before the Golden Eagles started to chip away in the second half, cutting the lead to single digits, 51-42, on Keith Williams' trey with 12:34 remaining in regulation.
The Senators eventually rebuilt a 64-53 cushion on two free throws each from Breland Walton and Evan Busby at the 5:38 mark.
But again UC threatened down the stretch, as a layup by Eddie Colbert III with 40 ticks remaining cut the deficit to 74-71.
The Golden Eagles again got to within three, at 75-72, on a free throw by Williams with 16 seconds left, but Walton added a a pair of foul shots to set the final.
Sam Rolle IV, who was named to the MEC first team earlier this week, tossed in 26 points to lead D&E, while Jordan Alexander chipped in 14 points off the bench and Walton tallied 13 points to go with 10 rebounds.
UC (19-10) placed four players in double figures, led by Williams with 17. Colbert added 13 and CJ Meredith and Tyler Eberhart 12 each.
The Senators who were swept by the Golden Eagles during the regular season, including a 39-point road setback on Feb. 11, had a 43-31 rebounding advantage. Both teams received 24 points off the bench.
D&E's 19 wins under coach Daniel Mondragon are the most for the program since Press Maravich's squad went 19-10 in the 1951-52 campaign.
The Senators secured their first winning record this season since Joe Super guided the team to a 14-11 mark in 1980-81.