BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —
Miles shoots the fewest free throws in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference by a wide margin but makes them at the second-best rate in the league. It begs the question of what might happen if the Golden Bears found their way to the free throw line more than the 15 times per game they averaged entering Saturday’s game against
Tuskegee.
The Golden Tigers — and the rest of the SIAC — found out on Saturday. The Golden Bears shot 34 free throws, making 29 of them, en route to another dominating performance, running away from Tuskegee 67-44 at Bartow Arena. Miles (14-3, 11-1 SIAC West) has opened a commanding 4.5-game lead in the West Division race with its fifth consecutive win and ninth victory in its last 10 contests. While the free throw numbers were glaring, it did not take away from another sparkling defensive performance that saw the Golden Bears, who rank No. 2 in scoring defense in Division II, to allow its fewest points in a game this season.
Miles has shown the ability to switch into overdrive on the defensive end at any time this season, and Tuskegee (8-9, 6-5) got a first-hand lesson. The Golden Tigers led 15-3 less than eight minutes into the game, but after starting the game 6-of-9 from the field, Tuskegee's shooting percentage dropped lower than the recent temperatures. They missed 15-of-16 shots and turned the ball over five times in scoring just four points the rest of the half.
Meanwhile, the Golden Bears continued to chip away. Despite making just six shots from the field, Miles was able to make its way by drawing fouls and heading to the free throw line. The team took 25 shots from the field but 19 from the charity stripe and made 16 of them. Even as the 3-point shooting was off (just 1-of-11 in the first half), it was a 3-ball from
Chase Ballard with 4:46 left in the first half that gave Miles a 20-19 lead. Tuskegee never led again.
The Golden Bears closed the first half on a 12-0 run to lead 29-19 at the break. The Golden Tigers cut the deficit to nine points early in the second half, but a bucket by
Najashi Tolefree (10 points, four rebounds) at the 18-minute mark put the lead in double figures to stay. A 9-0 run midway through the half started with a bucket from
Alvin Miles (11 points, four assists), followed by a 3-pointer from
Rylen Walker (six points) and concluded with a bucket by Ballard -— gave Miles a 51-31 advantage with 8:24 to play.
Kusamae Draper had 16 points as the only player in double figures for Tuskegee. Ballard had a team-high 13 points, while
Dorion Staples (10 points, six rebounds),
Corey Trotter (three points, game-high 14 rebounds) and
Elijah Horton (eight points, nine rebounds) all contributed to the big win for the Golden Bears, who host Spring Hill on Monday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 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.