ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Miles' chance at a third straight league title was disrupted by a staunch defensive effort from Benedict, dropping a 66-49 decision to the Tigers Friday night at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center. The loss in the TIAA 2022 SIAC Tournament semifinals was the Golden Bears (24-4) first since Dec.11 of last year - also to Benedict - and broke a string of 18 straight wins.

The Golden Bears never seemed to get in sync against the relentless ball pressure from the Tigers. Despite shooting just 33 percent from the field and turning the ball over eight times that led to eight points for Benedict, Miles led 26-25 with less than a minute left in the first half. But from there, things started to get away from the Golden Bears.

Benedict scored the final six points of the first half, including a 3-pointer by Timothy Bing (game-high 23 points) to give the Tigers an 31-26 lead at the break. Miles then opened up the second half missing six of its first seven shots from the field while turning the ball over four times. Suddenly, five minutes into the second half, the Golden Bears were facing a 44-31 deficit. The 13-point deficit was the first time Miles had trailed by double digits in a game since the team's last meeting and just the third time it had happened all season.

It never got much better for Miles the rest of the game. Elijah Horton and Truitt Spencer hit 3-pointers that twice cut the Benedict lead to 10 points - the final time coming with 9:33 left. But Benedict closed out the win with a final margin that matched the most points the Golden Bears trailed by all season.

While the defeat ended the Golden Bears league championship run, it should not keep Miles from qualifying for the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament next week. The teams and pairings will be announced Sunday night.

Malachi McCoy finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and four blocks for Benedict. Mykayle Carter (13 points), Brandon Miller (nine points, five rebounds, five assists), Joel Logan (eight points, game-high 10 rebounds) and Yasim Hooker (eight points, seven rebounds) were the top performers for Miles.