MORRISTOWN, TN – No. 21 Walters State got off to a slow start on Saturday afternoon but closed strong, taking an 89-70 win over Southwest Tennessee.

With the win, Walters State improved to 22-1 overall and 13-1 in TCCAA play. 

"We looked tired all game," Walters State coach Jerry Nichols said. "We can't play like that and win a championship. I'm happy we won the game but great teams don't do that. Tonight, we didn't play our best basketball and I'll shoulder the blame on that. We'll get better." 

While the Senators were strong offensively in the second half, they managed just 29 points in the opening 20 minutes. Nichols said he felt his team just didn't execute like normal in the first half. 

"They were switching one through five," Nichols said. "The game plan was for our bigs to roll, but they never really rolled. Jair (Horton) got it going there late. He was fantastic tonight. He was the lone bright spot tonight. I just didn't think we executed like we should have."

Leading the way for Walters State was Jamar Livingston with 20 points, while Micah Simpson added 16 points. Other scorers were Ramondo Battle with 15, Greg Moore with 12, Jair Horton with 12, Charvez Ambrose with six, JR Jacobs with three, Malachi Hale with three and Jaylon Taylor with two. 

It was a battle to start, with Walters State leading 12-11 eight minutes in. The Senators finally got some offense though, as Moore drilled back-to-back 3-pointers. Southwest Scored, but Livingston scored four straight to make it 22-13.

That's where the lead would remain for awhile, until Southwest closed strong with seven straight points to make it 29-24 at the break. Livingston had 10 points in the first half, while Moore had six. 

In the second half, Southwest cut the lead to 36-31, but Livingston and Jacobs each hit three's, while Simpson also scored to make it 44-31. Southwest would try and climb back into it the rest of the half, but Walters State never saw their lead drop below double digits.  

Simpson had 12 points in the second half, while Livingston, Battle and Horton each had 10 points. Horton was a monster on the offensive board, with a handful of offensive rebounds. 

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action on Wednesday at Chattanooga State. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.

"Hopefully this is the wakeup call to get us through," Nichols said. "It's going to be a tough one on Wednesday." 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics