CLEVELAND, TN – Elijah Davis scored 18 points for Walters State on Wednesday evening with Michael Houge throwing in 16 more, but it was not enough as the Senators fell to Cleveland State, 74-69.

With the loss, Walters State fell to 2-4 overall and 0-2 in TCCAA play. 

Davis' 18 points led the team as he did it on 7-12 shooting. Davis also had four rebounds and four assists. Houge was 8-10 from the free throw line and had four rebounds. 

Other scorers in the game for the Senators were Riley Cooper with 11, Ty Hurst with seven, Jaylen Wharton with six, Wade Pelfrey with three and Saevion Brown, Jair Horton, Destin Barker and Malachi Hale all with two. Cooper added seven rebounds while Hurst had three steals. 

Walters State got the scoring going in the game with a layup by Hurst, but Cleveland State quickly led 9-3 before Cooper broke the drought. Cleveland State kept a firm grip on the lead from there until Cooper and Houge went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 19-17. The Cougars got a bucket, but Hurst hit a 3-pointer and it was a one-point game with 10:50 to go in the half. 

The lead hovered at two from there until a Cleveland run made it 34-26 with 2:57 to go in the half. A 3-pointer with four seconds left gave the Cougars a 40-31 lead at the break.

In the second half, Cleveland kept the lead around eight for the first 12 minutes. Finally, Walters State broke through with a layup by Cooper and four Houge points that made it 61-57 with 7:02 to go. 

The lead was cut to one on a tip-in by Hale and Houge layup, but Cleveland continued to hold on. With 14 seconds left, Davis made a layup that cut the lead to 70-67, but the Cougars made their free throws down the stretch for the win.

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action on Saturday as they take on Columbia State at home. Tip is set for 4 p.m.

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics