MORRISTOWN, Tenn. — Less than 24 hours after seeing a 17-point lead disappear in the second half before getting a tip-in to win, the Walters State Senators saved the suspense in Saturday's weekend finale.
The Senators led wire-to-wire, scoring the game's first 8 points and never leading by less than six the rest of the contest in rolling to a 103-76 victory over Tennessee Community College Athletic Association rival Jackson State inside 'Z" Buda Gymnasium.
With the win, the Senators swept the TCCAA home series this weekend and improved to 11-5 overall and 3-2 in league play.
The loss dropped the Green Jays to 6-6 overall and 1-5 in region action, as they lost both games of their road trip.
Walters State scored the first 8 points of the game, with Khiry Shelton pouring in half of them, and it took more than four minute for the Green Jays to get on the board. Deontae Davis nailed a pair of triples for the Senators, increasing the lead to 14-4, and the margin was in double figures for much of the remainder of the game.
The Senators led by as much as 17 in the opening 20 minutes, only to see the Green Jays go on an 8-0 run to cut it to 43-34, but Walters State bounced back from the spurt and increased the margin to 51-39 by halftime. Miles Thomas led the Senators with 14 points in the opening half, while Jerry Robertson and Zach Lewis both had 11 -points for the Green Jays in the first 20 minutes.
The Senators were red hot to begin the second half, and Jackson State never threatened in the final 20 minutes despite getting back in it late in the first half. Walters State scored 36 points in the first 11 minutes of the second half, increasing the lead to 87-59 in the process.
The Senators kept the lead around 30 the rest of the way, and they hit the century mark on a runner in the lane by Jaden Lewis in the final minute of the contest.
Walters State shot 54.4 percent (37 of 68) from the field in the win, making 8 of 14 from long range and 21 of 29 from the free throw line in the contest. The Senators held a 38-25 edge on the glass, 32-19 in bench scoring, 48-30 on points in the paint and 24-10 in points off turnovers (Jackson State committed 19 turnovers to WSCC's 13).
Thomas led WSCC with 19 points in the win, while Shelton and Kajuan Hale both added 15 points with Hale recording a double-double with 13 assists as well. Davis chipped in 14 points, while Demontay Dixon and Seth Lenard-Battle had 8 points each in the win.
Jackson State shot 46.2 percent (30 of 65) from the floor in the contest, making 8 of 19 from long distance and 8 of 11 at the free throw line. Robertson tossed in 19 points, while Lewis had 16 and Eric Boyd added 12 in the defeat.
The Senators will return to action in 2019, as the next game will take place on Jan. 9 at home against the Maryville College junior varsity squad.