MORRISTOWN, TN – Walters State battled tough on Saturday against Caldwell Community College but could not overcome a five-point halftime deficit, falling to the Cobras 70-65. 

With the loss, Walters State fell to 1-2 on the season. 

"They're a very good team," Walters State coach Bill Carlyle said. "They're strong and big. I thought our kids played well. We're making some progress. As long as we keep making progress, I think we can get to where we want to go. I would like for us to get tougher, but I did see some toughness from us at the end." 

Jay Hickman led the way for the Senators with 15 points, as he knocked down three 3-pointers. Riley Cooper added 13 points and five rebounds while Michael Houge had 11 points and five rebounds. 

Other scorers in the game for Walters State were Elijah Davis with six, Daveonne Warfield with five, Bakari Johnson and Jaylen Wharton with four each, Micah Simpson with three and Izaiha Bredwood with two. 

As a team, Walters State shot 40.4% from the field but were just 6-22 from the 3-point line and 17-27 at the free throw line. 

The Senators started off quick to open up the game as Houge drilled a 3-pointer and Hickman got a steal that led to a Davis layup. Walters State went up 9-4 when Cooper drained a shot while getting fouled and completed the 3-point play.

However, Caldwell scored five straight to tie the game before Hickman knocked down a three to give Walters State the lead back. A Cooper free throw and Davis and Barker layups pushed the lead to 17-9 with 10:13 to go in the half.

Unfortunately for the Senators, they went cold after that and, with 4:03 left in the half, Caldwell took the lead at 21-19. The lead grew to 31-24 with a minute to go before Bredwood hit two free throws that made it 31-26 at the break.

In the second half, the two teams traded buckets to start before back-to-back 3-pointers gave Caldwell a 10-point lead. Wharton hit two free throws and Houge drove in for a layup to answer back before two free throws from Cooper made it a 45-41 game. 

The lead hovered around six after that until Johnson scored four straight to make it a four-point game at 55-51. Caldwell answered again and built their lead to 10 with 2:51 to go before Houge made back-to-back buckets to make the score 61-55. 

Then, Caldwell made four free throws to push the lead to 65-55 with 48 seconds to go. Walters State had one last chance as Simpson hit a three and Hickman hit a three to make it 65-61. But Caldwell made their free throws down the stretch and hung on for a five-point victory. 

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action on Wednesday as they travel to take on Tennessee Wesleyan JV. Tip is set for 5 p.m. 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics