BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —
Alvin Miles is starting to heat up for the Golden Bears, and that may be a big issue for future opponents.
The senior guard continued his hot play of late, combining with
Dorion Staples for 47 points and 11 rebounds to lead Miles to an 82-54 win over Fort Valley State on Monday night at Knox-Windham Gymnasium. The Golden Bears (5-2, 2-0 SIAC West) never trailed in the game, leading by 20 at halftime and watching it grow to nearly 30 late in the ball game. The Wildcats (1-7, 0-4 SIAC East) continuously paid for turning the ball over, allowing Miles to score 26 points off 20 FVSU miscues.
Over the past three games, Miles—the SIAC Preseason Player of the Year—has found his stroke. He is averaging 19.7 points, 4.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals in those contests while watching his shooting percentage rise nearly 10 points (37 to 46) from the Golden Bears' first four games. The Wildcats had no answer for him—or several of his teammates—in the first half as Miles ran out to a big lead.
Staples got the party started with a quick bucket on the Golden Bears' first possession before Miles drained the first of five 3-pointers on the night. Less than eight minutes into the game, the Miles advantage hit double digits for the first time on a
Rylen Walker layup that pushed the lead to 23-12. The Golden Bears made 6-of-12 3-pointers in the first half, and
Travarus Carroll got in on the fun in his first action of the season when he stroked a triple with 5:55 left in the first half to dig FVSU into a 31-18 hole.
Miles closed the first half scoring the final eight points. Staples connected inside, then knocked down a 3-ball before
Chase Ballard hit a three at the buzzer to give the Golden Bears a 45-25 lead at the break. Staples continued his onslaught, scoring 13 of his season-high 24 points in the second half. Alvin Miles had 13 points of his own over the final 20 minutes, finishing with 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Hassane Diallo and Davorian Randolph each had 12 points to lead Fort Valley State. Carroll finished with nine points and eight assists, and Ballard added seven points and five assists for the Golden Bears, who are back in action on Saturday when they travel to take on Savannah State. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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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 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.