Defensive effort leads Walters State to fifth straight conference win

MORRISTOWN, TN – Coach Bill Carlyle and his Walters State team have been on a roll as of late, and that continued on Wednesday night.

Taking on Cleveland State, the Senators held the Cougars to just 34% from the field as they got revenge on an earlier season loss with an 80-55 victory. 

With the win, Walters State improved to 16-7 overall and 8-3 in TCCAA play. It was their fifth straight victory in conference play.

"Defense was the difference," Carlyle said. "We came out a little ambitious, but our defense held us. I thought our pressure was great. We worked all week on trying to get pressure, and I thought they did a great job. I was really proud of the effort. Everyone that came in stayed in the game and knew what they were doing. That's the kind of basketball I like to coach. That's the kind of basketball Walters State likes to have. I loved what we did tonight." 

It was a team effort for the Senators as four scored in double figures. Michael Houge led the charge with his ninth straight double-double, finishing with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Along with Hogue, Micah Simpson had 15 points while Ty Hurst had 14 points, five assists and five rebounds. Elijah Davis contributed 10 points and five assists. 

Other contributors for Walters State were Riley Cooper with six points, Malachi Hale with six points, Destin Barker with four points and four rebounds and Jair Horton with three points. 

As a team, the Senators shot 56% from the field and had 35 rebounds and blocked 10 shots. Houge and Cooper each had three blocks on the defensive end. 

The Senators came out strong to start the game as they scored the first four points of the game. Following a Cleveland State basket, Simpson then hit a 3-pointer and Davis scored to make it 9-2. 

Cleveland State kept it close from there before a Hale 3-pointer, Hurst layup, Cooper layup and Houge free throws made it 27-17. The Senators closed the half strong and led 38-24 at the break. Houge had 12 points in the first 20 minutes while Simpson had seven and Cooper had six. 

In the second half, Cleveland came out with some fire and got the lead down to six with 13 minutes to go. Hurst stopped the bleeding with four straight points and Simpson made a layup to make it 54-42. 

Cleveland State made one final charge to get it down to single digits again, but Hurst once again responded with four straight points to make it 62-49. From there, the Senators lead continued to increase as they held Cleveland State to five points in the final seven minutes of the game. 

In the second half, Houge and Hurst each had 10 points while Houge had seven rebounds, as well. Simpson and Davis each added eight more points. 

Walters State shot a red hot 70% from the field in the final 20 minutes, making 18-26 shots. They were 6-6 from the free throw line, as well.

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action on Saturday as they travel to take on Columbia State. Tip is set for 5 p.m. ET. 

In the two teams' first meeting of the season, the Senators squeaked out a 62-57 victory at home. 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics