Walters State dunks past Experience Academy

MORRISTOWN, TN – Head coach Bill Carlyle used every available man on his team Monday evening in a non-conference matchup against Experience Academy, and all of them contributed as the Senators blew past the Kings 136-88.  

All 12 players scored for the Senators in a game that Carlyle said was good to see and was good for them to keep the momentum going. 

"Good news about that is that we got everybody to play and everybody had a good time," Carlyle said. "By and large, it's a good day because everyone got in. I saw some good things today."  

With the win, Walters State improves to 12-4 on the season. It was their fifth straight win as they head into the final game of the season on Thursday night with the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament on the line.  

The Senators were led in the game by Tylar Haynes, Destin Barker and Jermize Weddle who all poured in 18 points. Barker had a double-double with 14 rebounds while Haynes was one rebound short of one.  

In total, eight players scored in double figures. Kajuan Hale had 15 points, all over them coming in the first half, while Deng Agoth had 14 and Kaden Paul, Sully Fox and Gary Smith Jr. each had 10. Agoth also had a double-double with 10 rebounds.  

"My kid DA (Agot), I thought he had a great day today," Carlyle said. "I have been waiting on him to have a breakout day, and he had a really good game."  

The Senators started off quick as Hale drilled two 3-pointers to open up the game. The lead was 14-3 before Hale hit two more 3-pointers and Barker made a jump shot. Then Barker dunked and Haynes made a layup and it was 26-9.  

From there, Walters State cruised as Sly Thompson hit back-to-back 3-pointers. The Senators scored 69 points in the first half and led by 29. Hale had 15 to lead the way in the half while Haynes added 10 and Weddle, Agoth and Fox all had seven. 

In the second half, Barker took command early as he finished the half with 12 points and nine rebounds, including some impressive dunks. 

The dunks were out in force in the second half for the entire team. Smith Jr. had the highlight of the game when he took a pass off the backboard and slammed it home on a fastbreak. The game was capped off when Malik-Jamal Cadore slammed a ball home in the final minute. 

UP NEXT: 

Walters State will be back in action on Thursday for their season finale, taking on Roane State. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m. 

Currently the Senators sit in a tie for first place with Motlow State. If Walters State were to beat Roane State, they would be the one seed in the tournament as they hold the tiebreaker over Motlow.  

However, if the Senators were to lose and Motlow were to beat Cleveland State, Motlow would be the one seed with Walters State the two seed. If Walters State were to lose and Cleveland State were to win, Cleveland State would be the one seed with Walters State being the two seed.  

For Carlyle, he just wants to take care of business and lock up that top seed.  

"If we can beat Roane, we would have home court advantage the rest of the way until we reach the state tournament," Carlyle said. "It's an exciting time coming up. We are starting to peak at the right time and are playing really good basketball right now.  

"As long as we play defense and keep making our shots, we'll be ok. I like our chances."  

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics