Men quell upset bid, shakes Paine
Box Score Miles got 16 points, nine rebounds, and five assists from
Joshua Johnson and found a way to bounce back after squandering a double-digit, second half lead to dispose of Paine College 82-73 Tuesday night in the opening round of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championships at Bill Harris Arena.
The win advances the Golden Bears (17-12) to the quarterfinals Thursday afternoon, where they will play Claflin at 3:15 p.m. The loss ends the Lions season at 7-23.
Miles surrendered an 11-0 run to Paine over a two-and-a-half minute stretch midway through the second half, only to respond with 11 consecutive points of its own to retake control.
Hasain Bunnell (11 points) gave the Golden Bears the lead for good with just over eight minutes remaining and
Maiscei Grier (16 points) responded with five straight points - the last coming on a 3-point play with 7:14 left to give the team a 58-52 advantage. The Lions would close to within five points on a Arnis Libazs 3-pointer with 4:21 left but
E. Reginald Smalls (14 points) would answer with his own triple to extinguish Paine's final threat.
Christian Nobles and Raheim Connelly each had 14 points for Paine.
Eric Halliwell had eight points and five rebounds for Miles.
