MORRISTOWN, Tenn. — Walters State returned to the court for the first time in 2020 and got the new year off to a rousing start putting four players in double figures as they blasted Bristol Prep 122-86 Wednesday night a 'Z' Buda Gymnasium.

Paris Taylor recorded a double-double pouring in 27 points and grabbing 13 rebounds to lead the Senators. Luiz Machado had 26 points, Dearius Boyd added 23 and Jermize Weddle finished with 12. Walters State out-rebounded the Avengers 56-30 and had 28 second-chance points to only four for Bristol Prep. Eliyah Washington finished with 27 points and 10 boards for the Avengers with Jalyn Hickman adding 20 points and Mark Vance 10. Walters State shot just under 50 percent for the game (27-of-53) but went 12-for-25 (48 percent) from three-point range.

"It was good to start out this year with a win," Walters State coach Bill Carlyle said. "I was a little concerned about us as we are a little short on players. We have Anthony Jones at home with a broken hand and Machado had been struggling with his shoulder a little bit, but they played pretty well tonight. Bristol Prep is a lot better than they played as I saw them play Roane State and they led them the whole first half. They just didn't get off to a good start and we made a lot of threes."

The Senators (11-6) had the hot hand from behind the arc in the first half, hitting nine triples in the first 20 minutes with Sly Thompson going 3-for-3 and Machado hitting all four of his three-point attempts. Machado hit two threes and two free throws to give the Senators a quick 10-2 lead. One of the highlights of the first half of play was when Machado connected on a three and was fouled on the play. He converted the free throw to round out the four-point play and give Walters State a 32-13 lead.

"I thought we shot it exceptionally well from outside," Carlyle said. "We made good decisions early and I was really impressed with Paris tonight and I think he played the best he has played all year. He made good, quick moves and he moved well and worked hard. I feel pretty good about where we are right now."  

The shots from deep kept falling as the Senators to built a 42-19 advantage on a shot by Machado. The Avengers were able to score seven straight in less than a minute, but Taylor responded with four points in a row. Walters State rounded out the first half with downtown shots by Jordan Wilkerson and Thompson to give the home team a 57-37 lead.

Walters State controlled the tempo to begin the second half and a dunk by Taylor put the Senators on top 73-51. That opened a 16-3 run by Walters State than ballooned the lead to an insurmountable score. Boyd did plenty of damage in a three minute span, scoring 11 points. His dunk put the Senators up 100-61, the fourth time Walters State has passed the century mark this season. Washington was the go-to player for the Avengers late in the contest as he scored 10 of his 27 in the final four.

NEXT UP

Walters State will return to conference action on Saturday afternoon as they host Southwest Tennessee at 4 p.m.