TUSKEGEE, Ala. -- With a chance to earn a trip to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship Game and embellish an opportunity for a Division II playoff berth, Miles came up short in a 50-20 loss to Tuskegee Saturday afternoon at Cleve Abbott Memorial Stadium.

The loss ended the Golden Bears' (6-4, 4-2 SIAC West)  four-game win streak and handed the SIAC Western Division to the Golden Tigers (8-2, 6-0). An offense that had scored more than 34 points per game in October struggled as the calendar turned and a young defense that had matured throughout the season allowed multiple big plays as Tuskegee rushed for 333 yards and tied the mark for most poinst scored against Miles this season.

Miles started the game with the ball but three plays later, it was Tuskegee that was in the end zone. Quarterback Joseph Cambridge threw his first interception of the year on the second play from scrimmage and it was returned to the Miles 1-yard line. On the next play, Justice Owens punched it in and after a missed extra point, the Golden Tigers led 6-0. The freshman signal caller, though, acquitted himself on the next drive, making several key runs and throws. He ended the seven-play, 58-yard drive with a seven-yard scoring toss to H-Back Vincent Davis to give the Golden Bears a 7-6 advantage less than five minutes into the game.

But that was the final time Miles would hold the lead. On the next series, after a suspect pass interference call wiped out a Kendrell Walker interception and gave Tuskegee a first down on a third-and-22 play, the Golden Tigers used a 44-yard run by Owens to get the ball down field and set up a 22-yard field goal for Dalton Hall that put TU up 9-7. Unfortunately, things got a bit worse as the Golden bears found themselves in a 23-7 hole late in the first half.

As the game rolled into the second quarter, Cambridge (5-of-9, 47 yards) - who had looked poised and steady in his first four career starts - began to struggle and head coach Reginald Ruffin went back to Li'Jon Cordier, who opened the season as the starter. But it was running back Justin Hardy, as he had done many times this season, who got Miles back into the game. For the eighth time this season, Hardy broke off a play of more than 50 yards. His 58-yard run - which appeared to be a touchdown as he reached for the pylon - put the Golden Bears at TU 2. Two plays later, he was in the end zone for his 12th rushing touchdown of the season and cut the halftime deficit to 23-13 after Nick Christiansen missed his first extra point try of the season. Hardy finished with 116 yards rushing on 19 carries, finishing the 2017 season with 1,197 yards rushing.

Tuskegee got the ball to start the second half and it quickly went to work dismantling the Miles defense. The Golden Tigers went 75 yards on nine plays to open the third quarter, getting the last 22 on a quarterback keeper by Jamarcus Ezell less than five minutes into the period. A quick three-and-out put the Miles defense back on the field and Ezell hit a wide open Peyton Ramzy for a 35-yard touchdown pass that gave TU a 37-14 lead with just more than five minutes left.

Miles continued to fight. On the next play from scrimmage, Cordier (3-of-6, 96 yards) hit Antonio Lee (three catches, 97 yards) for a 75-yard touchdown pass that seemed to give the Golden Bears some life. But on the ensuing drive, Owens used a 31-yard jaunt to get to the Miles 1 and he punched it in on the next play to seemingly extinguish any hopes Miles had for engineering a comeback. A fourth-quarter touchdown by Tuskegee was the final nail in the coffin of a 2017 campaign that had looked so promising when the contest kicked off.

Linebacker Anthony Hardy, in his final game, had 10 tackles (seven solo), four tackles for loss and a sack as he ended the season leading the Golden Bears in tackles (86). N'Ktavious Floyd and Deaundre McCurry each had seven tackles. MarQuel Shelton recorded a sack to finish with a team-high 9 1/2 sacks.