MORRISTOWN, TN – Kajuan Hale hit two free throws with .7 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime for Walters State Saturday afternoon, but it was not enough as Cleveland State took down the Senators, 78-69.
With the loss, Walters State falls to 5-2 on the season and 4-2 in conference play.
"Cleveland just played harder than we did," Walters State coach Bill Carlyle said. "They executed well, got to the boards well, got the ball to the big kids and we didn't respond. I thought we had plenty of chances to win the game, we just don't finish really well. We're working on it."
Walters State was led in the game by De'Marius Boyd who had a career high 32 points. Boyd is averaging 24.3 points per game this season.
Along with Boyd, Tylar Haynes had 12 points and five rebounds while Hale had nine points. Naji Wright led the team with seven rebounds.
It was Cleveland State who came out of the gate quick to start the game, going up 6-0. The lead then grew to 12-4, forcing Carlyle to call timeout. Following the timeout, the Senators looked far more comfortable and got the lead down to 14-13 with nine straight points from Boyd.
Despite Boyd's efforts though, Cleveland State continued to score and made it 22-15 before Boyd stopped the bleeding with a made jumper. Then, Deovaunta Williams hit a 3-pointer to trim the lead to 22-20, and the Senators finally took the lead with 2:04 left in the half when Boyd hit a 3-pointer. But it was Cleveland State who scored the last basket of the half to make it 30-29 at the break.
The second half saw a similar start as the first half with Cleveland State keeping their lead and expanding it to six. Walters State would not give in though and tied the game at 43 on a Boyd layup. Jermize Weddle followed that up with two straight buckets to give the Senators the lead.
The lead would go back-and-forth from there and with 5:10 remaining, the Senators went for the kill. Boyd Made two free throws to give them a 55-53 lead and then Deng Agoth and Boyd each made layups. Boyd finished off the run with a free throw and suddenly the Senators led by six.
However, as they did all game, Cleveland State calmly took back control and tied the game at 62 with 1:04 to go. After a missed layup by Hale, Cleveland State scored with five seconds remaining to make it 64-62. Wanting to hurry, Hale raced the ball up the court for Walters State and drew a foul with .7 seconds left. He calmly sank both free throws to send it to overtime.
The Senators entered the extra period with a 2-0 record in overtime on the season. However, the Cougars took control early and never let the lead slip for the victory.
UP NEXT:
Walters State will be back in action on Monday, taking on Motlow State. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.
"We just have to get back to work," Carlyle said. "There will be other losses if we don't get better. So, we just have to get back to work."
Rob Harvey
Walters State Community College
Sports Information Director
Cell: (423) 779-8880
Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu
Website: www.ws.edu/athletics