Dismal Start Dooms Golden Bears in Loss to FVSU
Box Score FORT VALLEY, Ga. -- Playing on the road tends to present challenges for any team. When your team falls into a double-digit hole less than five minutes into a game, those challenges become even more magnified.
Fort Valley State scored the first 15 points in its game against Miles Thursday night and was never in any real trouble, cruising to an 84-77 win over the Golden Bears, who have now dropped 12 straight games.
Maiscei Grier scored a team-high 16 points for Miles, which had five players score in double figures but never got any closer than seven points once the Wildcats - who ended their own 12-game slide - jumped way out in front.
The decisive run by FVSU (1-12, 1-5) occured right from the opening tip. The Wildcats connected on five of their first six shots, which included four 3-pointers. During the same stretch, Miles (1-12, 0-6) missed all six of its field goal attempts and turned the ball over twice more.
Nahum Lockett (10 points) finally got the Golden Bears on the board at the 15:19 mark, but Fort Valley was still on a rampage as it opened a 30-9 lead. Miles used a 15-4 run to cut into the deficit but still trailed 39-28 at the half.
Miles allowed FVSU to shoot 53 percent from the field in the first half and could not stop the offensive onslaught at the start of the second half. The Wildcats pushed their advantage back to 19 points near the midway point of the second half but the Golden Bears had one more run left in them. A 21-9 jaunt, capped by a
Kendarius Cunningham (10 points) bucket, had Miles to within 66-59 with five minutes remaining. The Wildcats, though, would close it out from the charity stripe, scoring 12 of their final 18 points from the line en route to their first win of the season.
Tyrone Brinson scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Fort Valley. William Gray had 14 points,
Larry Butler added 10 points and seven rebounds and
Hasain Bunnell chipped in with seven points and a team-high nine rebounds for Miles, which is back in action on Saturday when it travels to Albany State. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
