Quarterback Li'Jon Cordier threw for 134 yards and two touchdowns and the defense forced two fumbles that led to two field goals that became the difference as Miles held on for a 27-24 win over Morehouse Saturday night in the Prince Hall Americanism Football Classic.

The win, in front of more than 7,000 fans at Sloan-Alumni Stadium, was the second striaght for the Golden Bears (2-2, 1-0 SIAC West). They held a two-touchdown lead going into the fourth quarter before the Maroon Tigers began to mount a comeback. But after Morehouse pooched a kickoff in hopes of getting a quick defensive stand and the ball back, backup quarterback Sidney Wilson led a methodical drive that chewed up all but 13 seconds of the clock. Starting from their own 10-yard line, the Maroon Tigers could do little to even get remotely close to field goal range and the Golden Bears were able to secure their third straight win in the series.

The game started great for Miles, which marched right down the field and capped a 12-play, 64-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run from Justin Hardy ( to give the Golden Bears a 7-0 lead. The Maroon Tigers answered right away on their opening drive, going 81 yards - the last 46 on a touchdown pass from Kivon Taylor to Ryan Edwards - to tie the game.

Miles' special teams helped put it back in front in the second quarter. Ger'Kerry Jackson came around the edge and blocked a punt to give the Golden Bears the ball deep in Morehouse territory. Nick Christiansen would convert on a 24-yard field goal for a 10-7 advantage and the Golden Bears would not trail again. Cordier would throw his first touchdown pass of the game to Trey Smith, who went 39 yards for the score and helped Miles to an eventual 17-10 halftime advantage.

The lead got bigger in the third when Cordier connected with Jourdan Walker on a 6-yards scoring strike to give Miles a 24-10 lead, its biggest of the game. That would be the margin going into the fourth quarter but Morehouse continued to fight.Taylor would find Edwards again, this time from six yards out, to cut the Maroon Tigers deficit in half. But on their ensuing drive, Taylor would get strip sacked by MarQuel Shelton and Kaelan Bonds would recover the ball inside the Morehouse 30.

Christiansen would make a 40-yard field goal to push the lead to 27-17 and those points were crucial because Morehouse would score again on a 33-yard touchdown reception from Michal Sims to Frank Bailey with 3:25 left. After the short kickoff, Miles would hand the ball to Wilson to close out the game for the second straight week. He ran the ball five times for 28 yards in helping the Golden Bears get two first downs and effectively end the game.

Miles is in action next week when it hosts Albany State. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.