Senators cap off big week with dominating win over Jackson State

MORRISTOWN, TN – Walters State scored the first 11 points on Saturday and 21 of the first 25, as they eased to a 109-49 win over Jackson State. 

With the win, Walters State moved to 16-1 overall and 7-1 in TCCAA play. 

"It's always important to get off to a good start," Walters State coach Jerry Nichols said. "Anytime you're playing anybody, you want to get off to a good start. We kind of rode the wave from that point on." 

It was a team-effort from Walters State, as all 11 players that saw action scored in the game. Five were in double figures as Greg Moore had 17, Jamar Livingston had 16, Ramondo Battle had 16, Jaylen Wharton had 10 and Jaylon Taylor had 10. 

Other scorers for the Senators were Malachi Hale with nine, Charvez Ambrose with nine, Micah Simpson with seven, Jair Horton with five, Carter Metz with four and JR Jacobs with four.

"I thought it was a great team effort," Nichols said. "Jackson is a make or miss team, and I feared that it might be a letdown after beating Roane. I thought we did a good job though of not letting them hang around." 

It was a strong start to the game, as Walters State scored the first 11 points. Livingston had four of those, while Wharton, Simpson and Hale all scored as well. 

Jackson State got on the board with a couple baskets, but Wharton scored again and Ambrose hit back-to-back 3-pointers that made it 21-4. The two teams traded made shots after, before Walters State went on a 12-0 run that made it 37-8 on made 3-pointers by Ambrose and Battle and made field goals by Horton, Moore and Taylor. 

Walters State got 26 more points in the half and held Jackson to 14, taking a 63-22 lead into the locker room. All 11 players scored in half, with Moore leading the way with nine and Battle, Hale and Livingston adding eight. 

In the second half, it was a lot of the same as the Senators rotated guys in-and-out. Walters State got eight points from Livingston, Moore and Battle each while Wharton and Taylor had six apiece. Walters State totaled 46 points in the second half and coasted to the win. 

With the win, Walters State finishes off a tough six-day stretch at 3-0. 

"This week tells me our guys are resilient," Nichols said. "I think our depth and how we recruited this past offseason has helped us. We have strength in numbers. I have said this plenty of times that when we're playing selfless basketball, we can be a dangerous team. I think our depth has helped us get through this week." 

Up Next:

Walters State has one game left during this tough stretch, hitting the road on Monday to take on Volunteer State. Tip is set for 7 p.m. ET. 

"The week is not over, it feels like, because we play in 48 hours," Nichols said. "Playing Vol on the road is always tough. Vol State is not your type of team that you can go in and sleepwalk. They're a talented team. We're going to have to play our best basketball and share it." 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics