ROME, Ga. — Walters State had four players reach double figures Friday night in an 86-70 victory over USC Salkehatchie in a neutral site men's basketball game held at Georgia Highlands College.

Kajuan Hale continued his early season tear, leading the Senators with 25 points in the victory, as Walters State shot a blistering 59.3 percent from the field in the contest and used a late 14-3 run to pull away for the win.

With the win, the Senators improved to 3-1 on the year, and they will face No. 22 Georgia Highlands (2-1) this afternoon in a 3 p.m. contest. The Chargers defeated Walters State's TCCAA rival Motlow State on Friday evening, 76-71.

The loss dropped the Indians to 1-3 on the season.

The game was close for the majority of the night, with the lead switching hands 10 times and the teams locked in a tie 14 times during the contest, but Walters State broke free late and put the game away with the late charge.

The Senators led 40-38 at halftime, but they outscored the Indians 46-32 in the second half by shooting nearly 61 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes. For the game, Walters State connected on 59.3 percent (32 of 54) of its shots, including 4 of 11 from long range, and the Senators made 18 of 26 free throws. WSCC also had just four turnovers in the game, a season low.

Paris Taylor added a career-high 20 points in the win, while Miles Thomas reached double figures for the fourth straight game with 19 points in the victory. Khiry Shelton tallied 12 points for the Senators. Through four games, both Thomas (23.3) and Hale (20.5) are averaging more than 20 points per game.

USC Salkehatchie connected on 40.4 percent (23 of 57) of its shots in the contest, making just 8 of 29 from long distance, but the Indians were 16 of 19 from the charity stripe. Vince Cole led USCS with 16 points, while Maliek Wilcox added 13 and Dyshan Murphy and Tez Collins had 11 apiece in the loss.