The Miles men's basketball team faced its two toughest opponents of the season this week, with trips to Montevallo and Morehouse that began a five-game road stretch. The Golden Bears were able to remain perfect on the season by grabbing wins against the Falcons (79-66) on Wednesday and the Maroon Tigers (76-71) on Saturday.
Roger Davis averaged 12.5 points, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals while
Yasim Hooker went for 10 points, four rebounds, and 2.5 assists in the two contests.
Miles 79, Montevallo 66
The Golden Bears broke open a tight game early with a scintillating 19-1 run in the first half. The Falcons (1-4) never recovered, missing all five shots and turning the ball over six times during the game-defining six-and-a-half minute stretch. Davis started the scoring with a basket that tied the game at 10.
Brandon Miller scored seven points during the run Davis added five, and
Chase Ballard added four more, including two free throws that capped the run in giving Miles a 26-11 advantage.
Miles shot 55 percent from the floor in the first half and led 41-25 at the break. When Davis (team-high 19 points) drilled a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the second half, the Golden Bears had opened a 19-point lead - their biggest of the game. The Falcons attempted a comeback, closing to within eight points midway through the second half. But an
Elijah Horton (seven points) 3-pointer pushed the lead back into double digits and started a 10-2 run over the next two minutes that put the game out of reach.
Montevallo gave up 21 points off of 14 turnovers and shot under 39 percent from the field while Miles shot 57 percent from the floor overall, 60 percent in the second half. Aaris-Monte Bonds scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Falcons. Miller had 12 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals,
Joel Logan had six points and four blocked shots, and Ballard had nine points to lead a bench unit that outscored Montevallo 29-10.
Miles 76, Morehouse 71
In the SIAC opener for both teams, Miles (5-0, 1-0 SIAC West) made enough plays late to hold off the host Maroon Tigers (1-4, 0-1 SIAC East).
The game featured 10 ties, 21 lead changes, and neither team led by more than six points. Morehouse led 38-37 at halftime - the first time Miles had trailed at the break this season - and led 45-39 less than three minutes into the second half. But the Golden Bears remained resilient, scoring the next seven points - the last by
Anthony Fairley - to retake the lead two minutes later.
Jacorian Dalton (nine points, 3-of-3 FG, 3-of-3 FT) would then score five of the Golden Bears' next 10 points to open a 56-51 lead with 12:31 remaining.
Morehouse threw the next counter by scoring seven consecutive points to retake the lead. From there, the two combatants went end-to-end exchanging buckets as the lead changed hands four times and with three minutes to go, the score was tied at 68. But a jumper by Hooker (13 points, six rebounds, three assists) gave Miles the lead for good with 2:20 remaining. On the Maroon Tigers next possession, Davis (six points, four rebounds, three assists) was able to get a steal and it turned into a basket by Fairley - two of the 18 points Miles converted off of Morehouse turnovers - for a 74-70 advantage with 97 seconds left. That left enough room for Miles to be able to close out the game.
Jordan Sterling (14 points) and Andrew Stewart (12 points, seven rebounds, seven assists) led the charge for Morehouse. Fairley had 13 points, three rebounds, and two assists while Logan added 10 points and three rebounds for Miles.
UP NEXT
Miles continues its road swing with a conference tilt at Albany State. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
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