MORRISTOWN, TN – Walters State could not have picked a better time to play their best basketball of the season than on Wednesday night in the second half against Roane State.
Clinging to a four-point lead at the break, the Senators came out of the locker room with energy and attacked the Raiders as they upped their lead to 23 points midway through the half. Roane State would make one final charge but it wasn't enough as the Senators prevailed, 91-81.
With the win, Walters State improved to 12-7 overall and 5-3 in TCCAA play.
"We beat a good basketball team tonight," Walters State coach Bill Carlyle said. "They've got good talent, are big and are quick and aggressive. I told our team at the half that they outplayed us; they played harder than us. I thought we came back and played harder and smarter in that second half. We're still making mistakes, but a w is a w."
The Senators were led in the game by Michael Houge who kept his double-digit point streak alive with 21 points. He has scored double-digits in all 19 games this season. On Wednesday, Houge also collected his eight double-double of the season with 10 rebounds.
For the season, Houge is averaging 17.4 points per game and nine rebounds.
Along with Houge, Elijah Davis and Riley Cooper each totaled 16 points while Davis had eight rebounds and seven assists. It was tied for a season-high in points for Cooper and was a season-high in rebounds for Davis.
Other contributors in the game for Walters State were Micah Simpson with 13 points and three steals, Ty Hurst with seven points, five rebounds and four assists, Wade Pelfrey with eight points, Jaylen Wharton with six points and Jair Horton and Malachi Hale each with two points.
As a team, the Senators shot 46% from the field and grabbed 40 rebounds. They had just seven turnovers.
Defensively, the Senators held Roane State to 39% from the field and forced 14 turnovers.
It was a back-and-forth start for both teams as Roane State got up 8-5 before Simpson tied the game with a 3-pointer. The Raiders and Senators traded the lead from there before Walters State took a 27-24 lead on a Pelfrey 3-pointer and Horton layup. A few possessions later, Pelfrey hit another three to make it 30-26.
Not deterred, Roane State took the lead back at 35-34 before Houge made a layup to put the Senators back on top. Roane State led one final time in the half at 39-36, but the Senators scored nine of the final 11 points to go up 45-41 at the break. Houge had 10 points and five rebounds in the half while Davis had seven points, five rebounds and four assists. Pelfrey added two 3-pointers.
In the second half, the Senators scored the first four points to up their lead to eight. The lead would hold there until Wharton threw down a ferocious dunk, Cooper scored and Hurst threw in an acrobatic shot while getting fouled. Hurst made the free throw, making it 61-48.
The lead continued to grow from there as Wharton scored again, and Simpson hit a 3-pointer that made it 69-51. Walters State scored five more points on a Hurst layup, Simpson free throw and Houge layup and it was a 23-point game with 10 minutes to go.
From there, the Raiders slowly chipped back into the contest and had the lead down to seven with 2:11 to go. Houge made a layup to stop the bleeding and Simpson threw down his second dunk of the game to seal the win.
The Senators shot 53.3% in the second half and turned the ball over just two times. Houge added 11 more points while Davis had nine points and Cooper added seven.
Defensively, Walters State held the Raiders to 9-30 shooting in the final 20 minutes.
Up Next:
Walters State will be back in action on Saturday as they travel to take on Jackson State. Tip is set for 5 p.m. ET.
Rob Harvey
Walters State Community College
Sports Information Director
Cell: (423) 779-8880
Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu
Website: www.ws.edu/athletics