CHATTANOOGA, TN – Tylar Haynes scored 25 points, while De'Marius Boyd added 24, as Walters State held off Chattanooga State for an 82-74 victory Saturday evening.

With the win, the Senators move to 5-1 on the season and are 4-1 in conference play.

Haynes finished the game 7-14 from the field and was 11-12 from the free-throw line. He also pulled down seven rebounds. Along with Haynes, Boyd was 9-21 from the field and had six steals and four assists.

Jermize Weddle added eight points and six rebounds while both Destin Baker and Gum Majek had eight points each.

It was a slow start for the Senators who found themselves down 7-0 early before finally getting on the board with a Boyd dunk. From there, Walters State calmed the waters, and a Weddle 3-pointer and Boyd layup tied the game at 12.

The Senators would then take their first lead of the game on another Weddle 3-pointer and took off from there, going on an 11-0 run that made it 23-14 and forced a Tigers timeout. On the run, Majek had four points and Kailon-Benton Hamilton hit a 3-pointer.

The lead moved to double digits moments later when Boyd hit a 3-pointer, but Walters State could not extend that and with 2:39 to go only led 32-29. The two teams went back-and-forth from there, and Haynes made a free-throw with 18 seconds left that gave the Senators a 38-33 lead at the break.

In the second, Boyd and Majek got Walters State on the board with four quick points, but the Tigers were there to answer again and it was 44-43 before Boyd hit another 3-pointer. That started yet another 11-0 run, this time with Boyd and Haynes scoring all the points. Haynes had six points while Boyd had the other five, and the lead was 55-43.

Once again though, it was Chattanooga State who would just not go away and had the lead down to three with 6:18 to go. From there, the two teams traded buckets before a Deovaunta Williams jumper and two Haynes free throws made it an eight-point game with two minutes to go. Walters State would make their free throws down the stretch and held on for the victory.

UP NEXT:

Walters State will be back in action on Wednesday at home, taking on Motlow State. Tip is set for 7 p.m.

In the two teams' last meeting, the Senators pulled out a 96-93 overtime win.

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics