TUSKEGEE, Ala. — Facing the prospect of watching
Tuskegee clinch the SIAC West Division title right in front of them, the Golden Bears got downright defensive on Saturday afternoon.
Miles erased an eight point deficit with six minutes to go in regulation, then forced the Golden Tigers to miss 8-of-10 shots from the field in overtime to grind out a 66-60 win over Tuskegee at Chappie James Arena. The victory drew the Golden Bears (17-6, 15-6 SIAC West) to within one game of the Golden Tigers (17-6, 16-5) in the fight to earn the division crown and handed TU its first home loss of the season while bringing an end to an 11-game home court win streak.
Less than a month after falling behind by 18 points in the first half in an eventual loss, Miles held Tuskegee to just 19 points in the entire first half, which was still enough for a two-point lead at the break. But lightly-used guard
Tre Munson was about to take a star turn in the second half that would ultimately define the outcome of the contest.
Munson, who has played just 53 minutes all season prior to Saturday and had scored three total points, drained a 3-pointer at the 16:15 mark of the second half to give Miles its first lead, 25-23. While he scored eight points in a season-high 27 minutes, it was on the defensive end where his effort became vital. He was tasked with slowing Tuskegee guard RJ Walker, who buried a 3-pointer at the six-minute mark of regulation to give the Golden Tigers a 50-42 edge. While Walker finished with a game-high 24 points, his touches - when he even got them - were far more contested than he had seen them all game. Another big defensive effort came from
Jayquan Hickles, who played a season-high 28 minutes as starter
Cameron Jernigan was in heavy foul trouble for most of the game. He did not score a point but grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds and added two steals as he did a good job slowing Kusamae Draper (20 points), the top interior scorer for Tuskegee, in the second half.
The Golden Bears erased the deficit in 90 seconds, with
Frankie Idlett's 3-pointer giving Miles a 51-50 advantage. Tuskegee never led for the remainder of regulation but two free throws by Walker with 32 second left tied the game at 56 and he had an opportunity to win at the horn but his miss sent the game into overtime.
In the extra period, Tuskegee had taken a two-point lead but Idlett hit another 3-ball with 1:58 to go to give Miles the lead for good. The Golden Tigers would miss their final five shots from the floor as the Golden Bears would close out the win from the free throw line.
David Williams (20 points, 12-of-12 free throws),
Najashi Tolefree (15 points, six rebounds, three blocks) and Idlett (10 points, six rebounds, four assists) were the top scorers for Miles, which hosts 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 (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.