SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Miles head coach Fred Watson knew that Morehouse was going to bring the fight to his team on Saturday evening, looking to roll over the Golden Bears and get into the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship game.

But it was the Golden Bears who delivered the biggest punch, going on a game-defining run in the first half to run up a double-digit advantage before supplying the knockout blow in a 63-58 win over the Maroon Tigers in the SIAC Tournament semifinals at Tiger Arena. It was the second consecutive year that Miles (23-5) defeated Morehouse (20-9) in the penultimate game of the tournament. Now, the Golden Bears will face Clark Atlanta at 2 p.m. on Sunday for the SIAC title. It will be the fourth time that Miles will play for the league championship in the past five tournaments, looking to repeat as champions for the second time.

While Miles never trailed after the 14:29 mark in the first half, Morehouse never went away. The lead was as large as 16 in the first half and when Chase Ballard knocked down a 3-pointer with just less than 13 minutes to go, the Golden Bears still held a 38-25 advantage.

But Morehouse immediately went on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to six points. When Chimeze Okeke scored with five minutes left, the Maroon Tigers had drawn to within 45-42. But the Golden Bears started getting the stops they needed. Morehouse would miss their next three shots while Alvin Miles was finding the bucket. He sandwiched two baskets around to Ballard free throws to push the advantage back to eight points with two minutes to go. From there, the Golden Bears made it stand by making 12-of-14 free throws over the last 1:07 to put Miles on the precipice of another championship.

Miles was able to withstand Morehouse's late charge because they were dominant early. With the score tied at 5, the Golden Bears went on a 13-1 run to create a big cushion. During the stretch, the Maroon Tigers missed all eight shots from the field and turned the ball over twice. When Miles drilled a 3-pointer with 10:05 left in the first half, the Golden Bears were ahead 18-6.

After Morehouse broke the run, Miles went on another 10-4 run, with consecutive 3-balls from Miles and Todd Burt and another bucket from Corey Trotter. When Spencer Truitt was fouled and made his two free throws, the Golden Bears had their biggest lead, 28-12, with just more than six minutes left in the first half. The Maroon Tigers would make a run late in the half but still trailed 28-21 at the break.

Demetrius Calip had 12 points and Cedric Taylor, III added 10 points and 10 rebounds to pace Morehouse. Alvin Miles had a game-high 20 points, Trotter had a monster double-double (17 points, 19 rebounds, three blocks), and Ballard added 13 points to lead the Golden Bears.