ATLANTA — After seeing a double-digit lead in the first half wash away from a torrent of 3-point shots, No. 23
Miles found a way to retake control and never trail in the second half of a 78-69 win over
Morehouse at Forbes Arena on Thursday night.
The Golden Bears (5-0, 3-0 SIAC) shot a season-high 60 percent from the floor, and were particularly blistering in the first half in making 15-of-24 shots from the field (63 percent). The hot shooting started with a 3-ball from
David Williams (nine points, eight assists) to open the contest and was supplemented by an assortment of layups and short jumpers and hooks in the paint. Miles had built a 12-point lead with just under nine minutes left in the first half, seemingly ready to dispatch a tough Maroon Tigers squad early.
But Morehouse had other ideas. Omar Farah drained four 3-pointers in the next five minutes and when Sincere Key (13 points) connected on his own triple with 2:23 left in the half, it concluded a 17-4 run that gave the Maroon Tigers a 33-32 lead.
Miles was able to rebound from the outside shooting onslaught and ultimately answered with a big 3-ball of its own. With the score tied and the clock melting late in the first half,
Jaden Emory (15 points, five rebounds, three assists) fired away from deep while getting knocked to his backside. He made the bucket and added the impending free throw with 0.3 seconds left to send the Golden Bears into the halftime break with a 40-36 advantage. While Morehouse did well from the outside in the opening half (7-of-14), Miles was more proficient (5-of-7, 71 percent) from beyond the arc.
The big basket before the break served as the impetus for a big start to the second half, fueled by the Golden Bears defense that turned into easy transition scoring. As Morehouse missed its first four shots of the second half, Miles raced up court for some quick buckets. Two came from
Najashi Tolefree, who made seven of his first eight shot attempts en route to a game-high 17 points (along with six rebounds and four assists). The last came when
Cameron Jernigan, the nation's leader in blocked shots, swatted Key for one of his seven rejections and led to a quick basket by Tolefree for a 46-36 lead less than three minutes into the second half.
The Maroon Tigers got to within two points but a 13-4 run pushed the Miles lead back into double figures. When
Elijah Terry (four points) scored in the paint with 7:23 to go, Miles had its biggest lead at 65-50. Another 3-pointer by Farah (12 points) with 45 second left helped Morehouse get to within six points. But the Golden Bears, who are shooting over 80 percent from the free throw line, made 3-of-4 from the charity stripe to close out the contest.
Brandon Peters had 15 points and Logan McCormick added 14 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Maroon Tigers. Jernigan (11 points, 14 rebounds, seven blocks, three steals) had a monster night and
Tyon Thompson (13 points, five rebounds, three assists) was a big part of the success for Miles, which hosts Morris in an exhibition on Saturday. Tip-off is schedule for 3 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 (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.