MEMPHIS, TN – Ronnie Thompson scored 18 points for Walters State on Saturday afternoon against Southwest Tennessee Community College, however, it wasn't enough as the Senators fell 80-77.
With the loss, Walters State fell to 10-7 on the season and 3-4 in conference play. Southwest improved to 5-12 and 3-4 in conference play with the win.
Thompson led the Senators with 18 points on 7-12 shooting. Thompson also had four rebounds and three steals.
Along with Thompson, Josh Jerome had 14 points and four rebounds while Jared Carter added 11, making three 3-pointers.
Other scorers in the game for Walters State were Riley Cooper with 10, Deovaunta Williams with nine, Ty Hurst and Izaiha Bredwood each with four, Destin Barker with three and Dowar Jioklow and Brandon Kabuya Mpoyi with two each.
As a team, the Senators shot 28-64 (43.6%) from the field and 8-22 (36.4%) from 3-point range. They made 13 of their 16 free throws.
For Southwest, Arecko Gipson led them with 19 points, making 13 of 16 free throws. The Saluqis shot 40% from the field and made 32 of 45 free throws. The Saluqis had 48 rebounds to Walters State's 23.
Despite scoring the first four points of the game on a Jerome basket and Cooper score, Walters State struggled in the opening minutes of the game. With the game tied at eight, Southwest would score seven straight and force a Senators timeout.
From there, Walters State would try and fight back into it but could never get close enough until late in the half when Jerome and Carter hit 3-pointers to make it 28-25. After a free throw from Southwest, Williams hit a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game.
However, the Saluqis scored the final six points of the half and led 35-28.
In the second half, Walters State once again could not find a way to stop the Southwest offense. However, the Senators would keep hanging around. The Senators cut the lead to four multiple times and had it at 74-70 with a minute left until free throws down the stretch sealed the win for Southwest.
Up Next:
Walters State will be back in action on Wednesday when they take on Roane State at home. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.
Rob Harvey
Walters State Community College
Sports Information Director
Cell: (423) 779-8880
Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu
Website: www.ws.edu/athletics