Senators survive Roane State comeback, win 88-86 in OT

MORRISTOWN, Tenn. — After blowing a 17-point lead in the second half, Walters State forced Wednesday night's game to overtime at 'Z' Buda Gymnasium before taking down Roane State 88-86.

The Raiders actually took a two-point lead with eight seconds left in the game, but De'Marius Boyd drove into the lane and laid a ball in with two seconds left to send it to the extra period. Walters State built a three-point lead in overtime and held on as the Raiders missed a game-winning three at the buzzer.

"A win is a win, I guess I have to be happy about that," Walters State coach Bill Carlyle said. "We played well for three fourths of the game, but when I had to put in the subs, we struggled."

With the victory, Walters State improves to 16-12 on the season and 9-8 in conference play. The Senators were led by Sly Thompson, who put in 18 points. Six players totaled double digits with Kobe Powell and Paris Taylor each with 14, Luiz Machado scored 16 and Boyd and Anthony Jones had 10 apiece.

"It's nice to win," Powell said. "We have been in a little bit of a slump, but we got out of it, and I think everything is going to go along as the season goes. I'm just ready for the playoffs."

It was all Roane State early as they jumped out to an 8-4 lead, despite two quick baskets from Powell. The lead got to 10-4 before Walters State settled into the game with back-to-back baskets from Jones and a layup by Machado that tied the game up. Powell capped off the run with a layup to give the Senators a 12-10 lead.

After the run, Walters State took over, going on a 10-0 run that was capped off by back-to-back buckets from Paris Taylor to put them up 22-12. Tyler Arnold and Boyd got in on the fun as well with back-to-back dunks.

The lead remained comfortably in Walters State's favor for the remainder of the half, and the Senators closed out the half with four points from Izayel Pierre and a layup by Taylor to give Walters State a 45-32 advantage at the half.

Roane State tried to change the momentum early in the second, cutting the lead to 11 and frustrating Walters State, forcing an early timeout. However, the Senators responded after the timeout with baskets from Taylor and Thompson to push the lead to 15.

Down 17, the Raiders wouldn't go away, cutting the lead to two after sloppy play and turnovers by the Senators, going on a 15-0 run. Walters State was hurt even more when Taylor, who had 12 points to that point, went to the bench with four fouls with 10 minutes left in the game.

The Raiders run was finally broken up by Machado, who grabbed an offensive board and put it back in while being fouled. The two teams traded buckets for the next two minutes before Roane State tied the game.

The lead see-sawed all throughout the final minutes of the game before Boyd's shot sent the game to an extra five minutes. Powell had four points in overtime while Boyd had three.

"That play worked really well," Carlyle said. "We got them spread out and it led to an easy bucket (for Boyd). We're just surviving right now with the way we're playing. We don't seem to have the heart. But we're winning, so that's good."

NEXT UP

Walters State closes out the regular season on Saturday, traveling to TCCAA co-leading Jackson State. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.