If there was any thoughts about exacting revenge for the tough end to the 2016-17 season against Clark Atlanta, Miles had little chance to express them Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first six minutes, led by as many as 33 points in the second half, and never trailed as the defending Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions got their title defense off to a strong start with a 104-80 win over the Golden Bears at Knox-Windham Gymnasium. Carl Garcia came off the bench to score 28 points, grab eight rebounds and hand out five assists for Miles (1-5, 0-1 SIAC) but CAU (6-1, 1-0) had five players score in double figures, becoming the first conference team to eclipse the century mark against Miles since LeMoyne-Owen did in 2016 - 30 games ago.

CAU made six of its first 12 shots while Miles went 1-for-5 and turned the ball over six times as the Panthers took a 13-2 lead with 14:36 left in the first half. A basket by Jeffrey Dockett (19 points) near the 11-minute mark cut the deficit to 16-8 but that would be the last time the Golden Bears would trail by less than 10 points. On three different occasions, Jamal Pollydore gave Clark Atlanta a 20-point cushion in the first half but Miles went into the break trailing 43-25.

Things did not get much better in the second half. While Miles managed to shoot nearly 53 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes, Clark Atlanta was connecting at more than 58 percent and knocked down seven of its nine 3-point attempts. Garcia did get the hot hand, knocking down an assortment of shots - inside and out - in scoring 23 points in the second half. Damian Archer also played well, making five of his seven shots and scoring 14 of his season-high 17 points to close out the game.

Akil Douglas had 22 points and Austin Donaldson had 13 points, five rebounds and five assists for Clark Atlanta. Aron Stewart had four points and a team-high nine rebounds for Miles, which hosts Morehouse Monday at 7:30 p.m.