Clark Atlanta had surged to the top of the SIAC Eastern Division by winning 10 straight games coming into Thursday night's game against Miles.The Golden Bears came in comfortably atop the SIAC Western Division, looking to secure the West's No. 1 seed for the upcoming SIAC Tournament.

In a contest that could be replayed for the league title in a few weeks, the Golden Bears erased a second-half deficit to win a 61-58 slugfest in front of a raucous crowd at Knox-Windham Gymnasium. The Golden Bears (18-5, 13-4 SIAC West) leaned on their defense, holding the Panthers (20-4, 14-4 SIAC East) without a field goal over the last six-plus minutes to pull out the victory and clinch at least a tie for the Western Division crown.

Miles made seven 3-pointers in the first half and led by as many as nine points midway through the period. But CAU got some easy scores inside, had a hearty 19-6 edge from the free throw line over the first 20 minutes, and held the Golden Bears to just two baskets over the final eight minutes of the opening half to take a 37-33 lead into the halftime break.

Shemani Fuller kept up the pressure for the Panthers, scoring on their first two possessions of the second half to open an eight-point advantage. But Alvin Miles, who scored just one point in the first half, drained two 3-pointers in a row. Corey Trotter followed with two buckets in the paint and less than five minutes later, the game was tied at 43.

The game would go back-and-forth but CAU would open a 56-52 lead when Chris Martin converted a 3-point play with 6:10 remaining. But that would be the last made basket from the field for the Panthers, who missed their last four shots from the field and added a turnover. Offensively, Miles (16 points, two rebounds, three assists) closed the show for the Golden Bears, scoring the team's final nine points. His jumper with 2:39 left broke a tie at 57 and Miles never trailed again. He added a driving layup to open a four-point advantage with 1:51 on the clock, which was enough to close out the Panthers.

Martin (20 points) and Fuller (12) were the top scorers for Clark Atlanta. Trotter had 13 points and a career-high 17 rebounds while Mykayle Carter (nine points), Elijah Horton (nine) and Truitt Spencer  (seven) combined for seven of the 10 3-pointers for Miles, which hosts Allen on Tuesday for Senior Night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.