LIVINGSTON, Ala. -- Kamren Ivory threw for 211 yards, ran for another 44 and tossed two scoring passes. The defense forced two turnovers, allowed just one touchdown and even knocked the starting quarterback out of the game. But as the clock hit zero, it was West Alabama that somehow came out on top.

Elijah Guyton drilled a 20-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Tigers (1-0) a 16-15 win over the Golden Bears (0-1) Saturday night at Tiger Stadium. Guyton connected on three field goals and his lone extra point attempt, which turned out to be the difference. Unfortunately, Miles struggled in the special teams game, missing two extra points and a field goal that could have given it some extra cushion.

Still, the Golden Bears seemingly did every thing else right. Down 10-0 at the end of the first quarter, the offense kicked it into gear. Ivory found Franck Pierre (three catches, 59 yards) down the far sideline for a 41-yard touchdown pass with 54 seconds left to go in the first half but UWA still held a 10-6 lead at the break. Miles opened the third quarter with a drive that was highlighted by a sweet 29-yard grab by Jaih Andrews(three catches, 65 yards) that led to a 22-yard field goal by Roderick Smith that cut the deficit to 10-9.

On the ensuing series, Tigers quarterback Kason Lincke tried to scramble free to complete a pass but William Hardy (10 tackles, two sacks, forced fumble) blasted him from behind, forcing the ball loose and led to a recovery by Kason Boston. Lincke would not return to the game but Miles was unable to capitalize as Smith missed a 29-yard field goal that would have given the Golden Bears the lead. West Alabama would respond with its own field goal late in the quarter and held a 13-9 advantage with one quarter to go.

Miles punted on its first possession of the fourth quarter but immediately got the ball back when Cam Williams (four tackles, three pass breakups) won a jump ball for his first interception of the season. Seven plays later, Ivory threw a fade to the left corner of the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown toss to Jaquel Fells (four catches, 31 yards). The extra point was blocked and the lead was a precarious 15-13.

The teams traded possessions but UWA got the ball last with 4:37 to go. Using backup quarterback Spencer Arceneaux and second-string tailback Tyler Smith, the Tigers milked every second of the clock until Guyton put the extra-point-distanced field goal through the uprights to cut down Miles' hope for a road upset.

Among the defensive stars for Miles were Lashon Young (9 tackles - 8 solo) and Jamichael Rogers (7 tackles - all solo - 3 tackles for loss, sack) while Malachi Oglen and Robert Williams each had seven tackles. The Golden Bears are back in action next week when they travel to Montgomery to take on Alabama State. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.