FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Miles has reached a level of expected excellence where beating a team by almost 30 points is no longer the highlight of a long regular season.

For the second time in three weeks, the Golden Bears (19-3, 14-2 SIAC West) dismantled Kentucky State (9-15, 6-11), this time 82-54 on Monday night at the Exum Center. The win was the 11th straight for Miles, which stayed two games in front of Tuskegee for the top spot in the SIAC Western Divison with three games to play. But the margin of victory paled in comparison to the 38-point shellacking the Thorobreds took in Fairfield. Just as impressive, it is the fifth time the Golden Bears have won a game by at least 25 points this season and second straight game it has happened on this road trip.

Simply because Miles has been wearing out opponents does not diminish the fact that the Golden Bears are performing at a level that is among the tops in the country. Even when teams play well and stay close, they have generally found themselves facing a double-digit deficit with few avenues to get back into the game. That is what happened to Kentucky State.

The Thorobreds led by two points with nine minutes left in the first half and the game was tied at 25 after Jah Bennett scored with 6:21 remaining before the break. But Miles ratcheted up the defense on KSU, forcing it to miss its last nine field goal attempts of the half. Even more, the Thorbreds were not even getting high percentage shots, settling for six 3-pointers against the No. 1 team in the country defending the 3-ball. If not for a free throw from Jordan Little with 1:50 to go before halftime, the Golden Bears would have thrown another trademark shutout to end the half.

Meanwhile, Miles quickly buried KSU under an avalanche of 3-pointers. Jelani Watson-Gayle knocked down two straight from beyond the arc and Ryan Calhoun (7 points) nailed another on a third consecutive possession to give the Golden Bears a 36-25 lead. Miles would close the half on a 20-1 run and turn a competitive contest into a 45-26 laugher over the final six minutes of the first half.

By the time Kentucky State made another basket in the opening minutes of the second half, Miles had extended its lead past 20 points. The Thorobreds would get as close as 15 points early in the half but when Umar Frost (5 points, game-high 10 rebounds) scored with 12:15 to go, the Golden Bears would lead 63-42 and the KSU deficit would not dip below the 20-point mark for the remainder of the contest.

As well as the defense played, the offense could have been overshadowed. But the Golden Bears continued to show that they are capable of running up the number on the opposition. Miles, which is second in the SIAC in field goal percentage, shot over 53 percent from the floor. Watson-Gayle led the charge, making 10-of-13 shot attempts and going 4-of-5 from beyond the arc in scoring a career-high 29 points. His basket with 4:16 left pushed the lead to 30 points for the first time and it would get as high as 32 points on two different occasions with buckets from Joel Logan (6 points on 3-of-3 shooting) and Braeden Stewart (8 points, 5 rebounds).

Little (18 points) was the only player in double figures for Kentucky State. Miles, which hosts Spring Hill on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., got a big performance from Avery Brown (21 points, 6 rebounds) and Richard Feagin was active, with 4 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals.