MORROW, Ga. — Some teams are just matchup problems.
Savannah State has certainly been that for
Miles over the past year.
After losing in upset fashion during last year's tournament, then taking two more losses this season – the last one in a lopsided loss on Senior Day two weeks ago – the Golden Bears were again faced with the prospect of having to find their way past the Tigers to continue their season.
But trailing by five points with less than three minutes to go, the Golden Bears pitched a shutout.
Tyon Thompson hit a big 3-pointer and
David Williams made three free throws - the final one coming with 17 seconds remaining – to lift West No. 2 seed Miles over East No. 3 seed Savannah State 48-47 Thursday night at The Arena at Southlake. The win pushes the Golden Bears (20-7) into the semifinals of the SIAC Men's Basketball Tournament presented by Toyota on Friday against Morehouse at 7 p.m.
The start of the game looked eerily similar to the beginning of the contest last week. It took Miles a while to get things going and Savannah State (16-12) jumped out to an early 9-2 lead. But the Golden Bears still held a 23-20 halftime lead and quickly had that lead to five points in the opening minutes of the second half as
Isaiah Jones bucket and two free throws by Williams (seven points) looked to ignite a big run.
SSU, though, had other ideas. Miles went scoreless for four-and-a-half minutes and the Tigers scored six straight points to take a 43-38 lead with 4:44 to go. But when the Golden Bears looked to be on their way to another defeat, Thompson came through with a big shot from downtown. The senior went 4-of-5 on 3-pointers (the rest of the team was 0-of-14 combined), the final one coming with 2:25 remaining to slice the deficit to 47-45. He finished with a game-high 14 points.
Williams, who was 0-of-7 from the field, would make two free throws with 55 seconds left to tie the game at 47. Miles would get a defensive stop, called time out, then got the ball in Williams' hands again. He was fouled and went back to the charity stripe, where he missed the first but made the second to put the Golden Bears on top. The Tigers had a final chance to win but Javonte Landy's layup through traffic was off and ended up in Williams' hands, who then dribbled out the clock.
Miles has now extended its streak of 20-win seasons under head coach
Fred Watson to seven, which is the length of his tenure (excluding the 2020-21 pandemic-shortened campaign). Zyere Edwards scored 10 points as the only player in double figures for Savannah State. Jones (10 points, nine rebounds, three steals, two blocks) and
Jayquan Hickles (six points, seven rebounds) had big efforts for the Golden Bears.
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ABOUT THE SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (SIAC)
The SIAC is a NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with headquarters in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The SIAC includes 15 member institutions (Albany State University, Allen University, Benedict College, Central State University, Clark Atlanta University, Edward Waters University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University), which are located within a contiguous seven-state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio). The SIAC sponsors nine men's and seven women's sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II. For more information, visit
www.thesiac.com.