WILBERFORCE, Ohio -- Facing a one-win team that you have beaten eight straight times, it would not be hard to see that Miles might have entered Saturday's game against Central State a bit complacent. But the Golden Bears refused to settle after a back-and-forth first half, opening a double-digit lead in the second half and fighting off a scrappy Marauders squad in securing a 73-67 win Saturday afternoon at Beacom/Lewis Gym. Miles (12-3, 7-2 SIAC West) shot 50 percent from the field in the second half and had four players scored in double figures en route to a sixth consecutive victory.  

For as close as the contest was early and late, Miles never trailed in the second half. That was because Mykayle Carter made two 3-pointers in the final minute of the first half, the second coming right before the horn that gave the Golden Bears a 33-30 advantage going into the break. The senior forward then opened the second half with a 3-point play to complete an 11-0 run. Corey Trotter, who scored the other two points during the run, added two more buckets at the beginning of the second half, which were followed by a Truitt Spencer (six points) pull up jumper on the break to help Miles open a 42-42 lead less than four minutes into the final stanza.

The teams would exchange buckets for the next few minutes but a 3-pointer from Willie Jackson helped CSU cut the deficit to five points. From there Elijah Horton (12 points, six rebounds) scored inside before back-to-back 3-balls from Carter and Horton pushed the Miles advantage to 61-50 with 4:48 remaining. The lead was as high as 12 points with less than two minutes left, but the Marauders refused to fold. They were perfect on four free throw attempts and hit two 3-pointers in the final 90 seconds to make the score close, but there was not enough time to keep Miles from closing out the victory.

Sean Paige had 20 points and Jackson added 17 for Central State. Carter scored 20 points, Trotter had 19 points, six rebounds and three blocks, and Alvin Miles added 10 points, a game-high eight rebounds, and two steals for Miles, which travels to play Kentucky State on Monday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.