PARK HILLS, MO – Walters State battled tough on Friday night against a tough Mineral Area College team but fell in overtime, 65-59.

With the loss, Walters State fell to 4-5 on the season. It was their second loss of the season in overtime. 

Michael Houge led the way for the Senators with 12 points, despite dealing with foul trouble throughout the game and eventually fouling out. Elijah Davis added 10 points, five rebounds, six assists and five steals. Davis was a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line. 

Other scorers for Walters State were Riley Cooper with nine, Micah Simpson with eight, Malachi Hale with six, Daveonne Warfield with five, Jay Hickman with five and Destin Barker with four. Barker added eight rebounds while Cooper had seven. Simpson and Ty Hurst each had three steals. 

The defense was strong for the Senators, as well. Walters State forced 20 turnovers in the contest and had 11 steals as a team. 

Walters State opened the game up with two free throws from Simpson before Mineral Area College quickly took a 10-6 lead. Davis hit two free throws and Simpson made a jumper to tie things up, but Mineral Area went on a 6-0 run to retake the lead. 

Mineral Area College kept the lead in the low scoring first half until Hickman knocked down a 3-pointer with 1:24 to go that put Walters State up 19-18. The Senators would not score again for the rest of the half, but Mineral Area's Dylan Williams drained a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to give them a 21-19 lead at the break. 

In the second half, Walters State opened things up on a 6-0 run to take a 25-21 lead. Cooper, Simpson and Houge scored on the run. The lead grew to seven a few minutes later as Warfield knocked down a 3-pointer. 

Mineral Area cut into the lead after that and had it down to three before Houge went on a 5-0 run by himself to make it 35-27 in favor of the Senators. Walters State held onto the lead for the next six minutes until Mineral Area took a 42-40 lead with 8:56 to go. The teams were deadlocked for the next five minutes before Walters State claimed a 51-48 lead with 3:27 to go on a Barker layup. 

Unfortunately, for the Senators, Mineral Area scored five straight to take a two-point lead. Needing points to force overtime, Cooper was fouled with 1:34 to go and made both free throws to tie the game at 53. Both teams had chances late but could not connect, sending the game to overtime. 

In the overtime, it was all Mineral Area early as they got up 60-53 with a minute to go. Trying to get back into it, Cooper made two free throws and then Davis made two free throws following a technical foul. After Mineral Area made one free throw to make it 61-57, Hickman hit a jumper that cut it to two with 35 seconds left. 

However, Mineral Area scored the final four points of the game and went on for the six-point victory. 

Up Next:

Walters State will be back in action on Saturday at 4 p.m. to take on Southwestern Illinois College. The game will be at Mineral Area College. 

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics