TULLAHOMA, TN – Walters State's Michael Houge had a career-high 28 points while Micah Simpson and Riley Cooper added 18 each on Wednesday night as the Senators picked up a huge road win over Motlow State, 80-70.
With the win, Walters State improved to 5-6 overall and 2-2 in TCCAA play.
Houge shot 11-17 from the field and added seven rebounds as he led the charge for the Senators. Houge is now averaging 15.7 points per game. Simpson had five rebounds and two assists to go along with his 18 points while Cooper was 6-7 from the field and a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. Cooper also had six rebounds.
Other contributors for Walters State were Elijah Davis with eight points, six assists, five steals and four rebounds, Malachi Hale with four points, Destin Barker with three points and Saevion Brown with one point.
As a team, the Senators shot 29-51 from the field and had 30 rebounds and 16 assists.
The Senators never trailed in the game as a Cooper layup made it 4-2 just two minutes in. Simpson added a layup after that before Houge and Barker hit back-to-back three's that made it 12-4.
It was soon 17-6 after Simpson drilled a 3-pointer and another Simpson 3-pointer minutes later gave them their largest lead of the game to that point at 24-11. From there, the Senators kept the pressure on as a Houge layup with five minutes left in the half made it 33-15. Simpson drilled a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer, and Walters State led 42-23.
In the second half, the lead got to 20 on a Houge free throw and then to 22 at 47-25 on a Cooper layup. However, Motlow showed fight and made it 52-40 before a Houge layup stopped the bleeding. Back-to-back Davis jumpers made it 59-44 and then Cooper hit two free throws to get the lead back to 17.
Down 18 with eight minutes to go after another Houge dunk, Motlow put up one last effort as they had the lead down to eight with 4:49 to go. But the Senators wouldn't let them get any closer as they held on for the road win.
Up Next:
Walters State will be back in action on Saturday as they host Southwest Tennessee. 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