Walters State wins overtime thriller over Volunteer State on Homecoming

MORRISTOWN, TN – Decorrian Kelly banked in a 3-pointer with two seconds left in regulation to tie the game on Saturday afternoon, and the Senators outscored Volunteer State 15-10 in overtime as they defeated the Pioneers 84-79.

The win improves Walters State to 8-4 overall and 3-3 in TCCAA play. 

"We win a conference game, and we are happy with that," Walters State coach Bill Carlyle said. "And we win an overtime game, and that's a big deal and is a confidence builder and gets you down the road. That's a good thing." 

The Senators trailed for much of the second half against Vol State and looked out of sorts down three on the final possession of the game.

However, Kelly flung up a 3-pointer that banked off the glass and in. The Pioneers had a chance at a half-court shot, but Kelly swatted it out of bounds, sending the game to overtime.

In overtime, Vol State scored the first five points but allowed an and-one from Riley Cooper that calmed the storm. After Isaiah Farrior hit a free throw to make it a one-point game, the Pioneers hit two free throws to get it back to three. 

This time, Cooper made a jump shot and Farrior made a layup that give the Senators the lead. After a defensive stop, Ronnie Thompson Jr. hit a free throw and Javontay Rollings hit two more to make it a four-point game. Vol State would answer with a 3-pointer, but Josh Jerome made two free throws and the Senators got a stop and runout dunk from Rollings at the buzzer. 

Farrior was the leading scorer for Walters State in the contest with 15 points on 6-8 shooting. Along with Farrior, Cooper had 13 points and Jerome had 12.

Other scorers in the game for the Senators were Ty Hurst with six, Thompson with seven, Rollings with eight, Izaiha Bredwood with four, Ijesuoefe Iyamu with two, Kelly with 10 and Brandon Kabuya Mpoyi with seven.

As a team Walters State shot 43.5% from the field and 41.7% from the 3-point line. 

Walters State came out fired up to open up play on Saturday as they scored the first four points and went up 7-2 on a Hurst 3-pointer. 

However, the lead would not last as the Pioneers took the lead and held it until Mpoyi hit a jump shot that made it 20-19 in favor of Walters State. The Senators would then get the lead to 28-23 on a dunk by Jerome, but Vol State once again fought back and tied it back up.

Vol State ended the half on a 7-0 run and led 35-30 at the break.

In the second half, Walters State took an early lead at 38-37 on a Jerome layup, but Vol State kept fighting and took the lead back until Kelly hit a 3-pointer with 11:31 to go that made it 52-51.

The two teams would battle back-and-forth from there with the Pioneers seemingly in control up five with a minute to go. But Cooper made a layup to make it a three-point game. Following two missed free throws, Kelly fired up his shot with two seconds to go that tied the game.

UP NEXT: 

Walters State will be back in action on Monday night when they host Tusculum University JV. Tip is set for 6 p.m.

Rob Harvey

Walters State Community College

Sports Information Director

Cell: (423) 779-8880

Email: sportsinfo@ws.edu

Website: www.ws.edu/athletics