No. 16 Walters State open 2026 with 86-61 win at Wabash Valley

MT. CARMEL, IL – No. 16 Walters State shrugged off a slow start on Saturday against Wabash Valley, opening the 2026 portion of its schedule with an 86-61 win over the Warriors.

With the victory, the Senators improved to 14-0 on the season. 

Tyrese Stovall led the way for Walters State with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Da'Mori Lytch had 14 points and eight rebounds and Carter Webb added 13 points. Other scorers were Taquez Butler with 12 points, Jayden Nesbitt with eight points and nine rebounds, Brian Carter with seven points, Jamar Livingston with six points, Trae Rideau with five points, Malaki Brooks with three points and Caiden Bauldwin with three points.

Walters State scored the first four points of Saturday's game, but Wabash quickly scored four of its own. The Senators got the lead back thanks to an and-one from Butler, but the Warriors scored four more to grab an 8-7 lead. However, Stovall scored, Webb hit a three and Lytch made a free throw to give Walters State a 13-8 advantage. 

The Senators continued to lead from there, and baskets by Stovall and Carter made it 21-12 with 9:06 left in the half. Brooks hit a three two minutes later to up the lead to 12, and it was 33-22 following two free throws from Carter and an and-one by Stovall. Wabash scored to make it a 10-point game, but Walters State ended the half on a 10-2 run to give itself a 43-25 lead at the break. During the run, Carter hit a free throw, Butler made a jumper and drilled a three and Nesbitt hit four free throws. 

In the second half, Butler opened things how he ended the first half, knocking in a 3-pointer. Walters State got the lead up to 55-33 following a three from Webb and two free throws by Lytch, and Stovall broke a Wabash run minutes later with three quick points. Nesbitt got the lead back to 21 with a basket that made it 63-42 with 9:32 left, and it was 69-44 after a Webb 3-pointer and Bauldwin and-one. Webb had four points over the next two minutes and, when Lytch converted an and-one with 4:29 to go, the lead was 80-53.

From there, the Senators cruised to the win. Rideau had Walters State's final five points of the game, including an alley-oop to end it. 

Up Next:

Walters State hops back into conference play on Wednesday, hosting Pellissippi State. Tip is set for 7:30 pm ET.