MORRISTOWN, TN – Walters State almost overcame a 10-point deficit in the final four minutes of the game on Wednesday evening against Motlow State but weren't able to get over the hump, falling to the Bucks 85-81.

With the loss, Walters State falls to 13-10 overall and 5-7 in TCCAA play. 

"We're just really struggling right now," Walters State coach Bill Carlyle said. "We can't seem to get over it. We just have to come to play. At the end, we took bad shots when we were still in the ball game. When we took it where we were supposed to, we did score. We just have to somehow get over this." 

The Senators were led in the game by Deovaunta Williams with 25 points. Williams made six field goals, a 3-pointer and was 12-17 from the charity stripe.

Along with Williams, Ty Hurst dropped 15 points while Riley Cooper had 14. Other scorers in the game were Josh Jerome with eight, Deng Akok with six, Izaiha Bredwood with five, Brandon Kabuya with four and Isaiah Farrior with two. 

Walters State started off strong, going up 7-3 as Williams scored the first seven points of the game for the Senators. Motlow would tie the game up at 10 before Walters State scored 10 of the next 14 points to take a six-point lead. 

The lead would grow to seven for Walters State, however, Motlow scored seven straight to tie the game back up at 24. After trading buckets for a while, the Bucks challenged again with a 12-0 run as they took a commanding 40-29 lead. 

Once again though, the Senators would respond. After Cooper hit two free throws, Williams converted an and-one. Jerome would then score four straight to make it a two-point game. Motlow would score the final basket of the half and it was 42-38 at the break.

In the second half, Motlow took control early as they got up 57-48. Cooper stopped the bleeding with two free throws and Akok hit a 3-pointer. After another defensive stop, Bredwood got a reverse layup to fall and Jerome scored to tie the game at 57. 

As was the theme of the game though, Motlow would again take control and build a 10-point lead with just four minutes to go at 75-65. And once again, the Senators responded. 

Williams and Hurst traded buckets to start before Kabuya got a steal and then slammed home a dunk off a pass from Williams. Hurst would hit two free throws before the Bucks stopped the run with a free throw. Cooper made it a one-point game again, however, that was the closest Walters State would get as Motlow made their free throws down the stretch to hold on. 

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action on Saturday as they travel to take on Dyersburg. There will be just a men's game so tip is set for 3 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