Houge, Cooper lead Walters State over Experience Academy

MORRISTOWN, TN – Michael Houge scored 21 points while Riley Cooper added 15 as Walters State took care of Experience Academy on Monday night, 79-68.

With the win, Walters State improved to 4-4 overall. 

Houge was 7-10 from the floor while Cooper was 5-7 and a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line. 

Along with those two, Destin Barker had 17 rebounds to go along with eight points. He had eight rebounds on the offensive glass and nine on the defensive glass. 

Other scorers for Walters State were Micah Simpson with eight, Malachi Hale with seven, Elijah Davis with five, Ty Hurst with four, Saevion Brown with four, Daveonne Warfield with three and Jay Hickman and Ijesuoefe Iyamu with two each. 

It was a slow start for Walters State as the Senators didn't score until the 17:37 mark with a free throw from Hurst. The first field goal came shortly after as Houge tied the game at three with a layup. 

A Houge jumper and Hale jumper put Walters State up 7-3, but Experience fought back and tied the game up at nine. The two teams went back-and-forth until Iyamu and Barker both scored to make it 17-12 in favor of Walters State. 

Walters State held the lead and grew it when Houge made a layup and Simpson hit a 3-pointer that made it 25-16. With two minutes to go, Experience had worked the lead down to 30-27 before Barker scored and Warfield hit a 3-pointer. The Senators led 35-29 at the break.

In the second half, Cooper started things off with a layup and Houge made a 3-pointer. However, Experience fought back and tied the game at 46 before taking a 48-47 lead. Houge stopped the bleeding with a bucket to retake the lead and Davis hit a layup to extend it. 

Experience once again tied the game back up at 53 with 10 minutes to go but Houge completed an old fashioned 3-point play that made it 56-53. Following an Experience basket, Walters State went on an 11-0 run that blew the game open. The team made nine free throws during the run. 

From there, the Senators clung to their lead and held on for a double-digit victory. In the second half, Houge had 12 points while Cooper added 11.

Up Next: 

Walters State will be back in action on Friday as they take on Mineral Area College at the Chris Morrison State Farm Classic. Tip is set for 8 p.m. at Mineral Area College. 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics