TUSKEGEE, Ala. -- Saturday was the big payback.

After suffering a late-game defeat to Tuskegee last weekend, Miles did not wait for any last-minute drama when the two teams met at Chappie James Arena. With first place in the SIAC Western Division on the line, the Golden Bears took control of the game early, never trailing en route to a 64-46 win over the Golden Tigers. With the win, Miles (14-5, 9-4) has opened a 1 1/2-game lead over Spring Hill and now have a two-game advantage over Tuskegee.(9-12, 8-7), who saw its six-game win streak extinguished.

Miles took an early lead but Tuskegee tied the contest at 6. From there, it was the Golden Bears went to work.

Mykayle Carter, who drained a 3-pointer to start the game, drilled two more 3-balls to give Miles the lead for good. Those shots started a 13-0 run as Chase Ballard hit another 3-pointer and Rylen Walker each scored to give Miles a 19-6 lead less than eight minutes into the game. Meanwhile, Tuskegee went almost four minutes without a field goal, missing three shots and turning the ball over as many times. When Burt (six points, three rebounds) scored with 2:06 left in the first half, the Golden Bears had their biggest lead (16 points) and they went into the half with a 31-17 lead. 

Tuskegee never got any closer than 10 points, and that was early in the second half. A 7-0 run, culminated by two free throws from Walker (10 points) just short of the midway point in the final period, pushed the lead past 20 points, 47-26. An Alvin Miles 3-pointer with 6:22 left gave the Golden Bears their biggest lead (24 points) at 54-30. The Golden Tigers, who were one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the SIAC entering the game, did not make a triple until there was 1:11 remaining and they were 2-of-10 for the game.

Kusamae Draper (14 points) and Martez Jones (12 points, 11 rebounds) led Tuskegee. Miles (14 points, six assists, four rebounds) and Ballard (12 points, five assists, three steals) were the top scorers for the Golden Bears, who travel to Spring Hill on Monday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.