First half scoring leads Senators over Tusculum JV

MORRISTOWN, TN – Walters State used a strong first half on Monday evening against Tusculum JV to ease to an 89-74 victory in their final home game of 2022. 

With the win, Walters State improved to 7-6 on the season. 

"We just have to keep working and improving on things," Walters State men's basketball coach Bill Carlyle said. "We have to be better defensively and take better shots. We need to keep getting after it in practice to improve that." 

Michael Houge recorded his second straight double-double, third of the season, to lead the way for the Senators as he had 21 points on 10-13 shooting and 11 rebounds. 

Along with Houge, Jaylen Wharton came off the bench and provided a big spark with 16 points in 20 minutes of play. Wharton was 8-12 from the field. 

The other Senator to finish in double figures was Destin Barker as he had 11 points. Late in the second half, Barker hit three 3-pointers on four possessions to seal the win. 

Other scorers for Walters State were Micah Simpson with seven, Ty Hurst, Wade Pelfrey, Jair Horton and Malachi Hale all with six, Riley Cooper with five, Daveonne Warfield with three and Izaiha Bredwood with two. 

The Senators shot 56% from the field and had 40 rebounds. Houge, Pelfrey, Warfield and Hale all had three assists. 

It was a strong start to the game for the Senators as they went up 9-2 thanks to buckets from Houge and Barker, two Bredwood free throws and a 3-pointer by Simpson. Tusculum answered and cut the lead to two, but Hurst and Wharton made jump shots that made it 15-9. 

Wharton scored again a minute later and Pelfrey hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 20-11 before Pelfrey scored again. The run for Walters State continued as Hurst scored and Houge dunked one home to make it 26-11.

The Senators run would eventually get to 13 as Horton scored a bucket. Tusculum broke the drought with a 3-pointer, but Horton scored again, as did Hurst. Houge then went on a 6-0 run to make it 38-18. Tusculum cut the lead to 11 with a minute to go in the half, but Wharton and Simpson both scored. It was 43-28 at the break.

In the second half, Walters State kept the pressure on early as Houge and Wharton scored. The lead eventually grew to 20 again on a Houge layup before Tusculum made a charge and cut it to 12 with 6:40 left. 

The lead got to single digits at 71-62 with five minutes to go, but Pelfrey hit a free throw to end the run. Barker then put the game away with his three 3-pointers, with a Simpson dunk thrown in the middle, that made it 85-69. The final points came from baskets from Hale and Horton. 

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action on Friday as they travel to take on Milligan College JV. Tip is set for 6 p.m. 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics