Senators can’t hold halftime lead; fall to Southwestern Illinois

PARK HILLS, MO – Walters State led by five at halftime on Saturday against Southwestern Illinois but could not hold on, falling 73-68 to close out their time at the Chris Morrison State Farm Classic.

With the loss, Walters State fell to 4-6 on the season. 

Four Senators finished the game in double figures with Destin Barker leading the way with 16 points. Barker hit four 3-pointers. 

Along with Barker, Michael Houge added 13 points while Elijah Davis and Micah Simpson each scored 12 points. Other scorers for Walters State were Riley Cooper with eight points, Izaiha Bredwood with three points and Jaylen Wharton and Malachi Hale with two points each. 

The Senators, as a team, were 25-59 from the field and hit nine 3-pointers. Defensively, they forced 15 turnovers. 

It was a good start for Walters State as Simpson hit a 3-pointer that put them up 7-5 two minutes in, and Barker followed it up with a three. Four quick points from Houge a minute later gave Walters State a 14-7 lead. 

The lead was five for the next four minutes as neither team scored until Hale broke the drought with a tip-in. Wharton then dunked one home and Cooper hit a shot to make it 22-11. Southwestern Illinois cut the lead to five, but Simpson drilled a three coming out of a timeout. 

The Senators held from there and led 34-29 at the break. 

Walters State came out of the locker room like they started the game as Davis made two free throws and Houge made a jumper that made it 38-31. However, Southwestern Illinois scored the next five to make it a two-point game before Barker answered with a 3-pointer. Southwestern hit a three to get it back to two at 41-39 but once again Barker hit a 3-pointer. 

Unfortunately for the Senators though, they would go cold and Southwestern Illinois took the lead 47-46 with 12:04 to go. Simpson got the lead back 30 seconds later with a three, but Southwestern answered with a three of their own. 

With the score 52-49 in favor of Southwestern Illinois, the Senators made a push as Barker scored and Cooper scored to give them the lead back. But Southwestern hit another 3-pointer and went on a 9-0 run to take a 61-53 lead with five minutes to go. 

The Senators tried to cut into the lead for the final five minutes and made it a three-point game with 57 seconds left after Houge completed a 3-point play. That was as close as Walters State would get though as Southwestern Illinois hit two free throws with a second left to win by five.

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action on Wednesday as they travel to take on Motlow State. Tip is set for 8:30 p.m. 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics