MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Before Fred Watson arrived as head coach prior to the 2018-19 season, the Miles men's basketball program had not seen a 20-win season since the 1970s. Since then, the Golden Bears have reached the coveted plateau every year.

That streak continued as the Golden Bears pounded LeMoyne-Owen 78-52 on Monday night at Hall/Johnson Gymnasium. It was the 11th win overall for Miles (20-3, 16-1 SIAC West), its eighth straight against the Magicians (4-21, 4-14) and makes Watson 6-for-6 in 20-win campaigns since arriving in Fairfield.

The game was not much of a contest after the early going. The Golden Bears used a 12-0 run, fueled by the offensive work from Corey Trotter and Najashi Tolefree, to turn an early three-point deficit into a 19-10 advantage with 8:53 left in the first half. Another big run - this time 13-2 over a three-minute span - upped the advantage to 32-14 with five minutes remaining before the break. Rylen Walker had five points during that stretch and Alvin Miles drained a 3-ball to culminate that run.

The Golden Bears led 38-23 at halftime but the Magicians found some life at the start of the second half. A Kyle Houston 3-pointer with 11:53 to go cut the LeMoyne-Owen deficit to 49-43. But Trotter and Tolefree went back to work, scoring a combined nine points in an 11-2 run that pushed the Miles lead back into double figures for good midway through the final period. From there, the defense closed it out, limiting the Magicians to just two field goals over the final eight minutes as the Golden Bears won going away. Miles shot 52 percent from the field while LeMoyne-Owen could only manage a 36 percent success rate.

Ronald Berkeley had a team-high 21 points to pace LeMoyne-Owen. Trotter scored a season-high 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds, with Tolefree (15 points), Walker (14) and Miles (12) also scoring in double figures for the Golden Bears, who play at Lane on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.