In the two games prior to Tuesday night's tilt with Oakwood, Miles has used a similar formula to win. Open a big lead in the second half, then fight off a the opponent late in the game to secure the victory. Against the Ambassadors, the Golden Bears went with a different tactic but it produced the same result.

Oakwood led at halftime and the game was tight through the opening minutes of the second half before Miles used solid defense to quell the Ambassadors' upset bid, taking home an 87-75 win Tuesday night at Knox-Windham Gymnasium. The victory was the sixth straight over the Ambassadors (2-21) and the eight consecutive win overall for the Golden Bears (17-3), who shot 59 percent from the field in the second half to win going away.

Oakwood made 10 3-pointers and shot 42 percent from behind the arc, which contributed to its hot start. Brian Williams made two 3-balls and Damon Fann drained another as the Ambassadors opened a 13-2 lead before the first media timeout. Miles never got closer than three points the rest of the half and went into the break trailing 34-30.

But the Golden Bears, who went 0-for-10 from distance in the first half, started attacking the basket with aplomb in the second half and Oakwood did not have many answers. Travarus Carroll and Najashi Tolefree used skill and speed to find a dearth of finger rolls, layups and jump hooks in the lane to get close before Carroll made Miles' only 3-pointer of the game with 14:22 left to give the team a 46-45 lead - its first since scoring the first basket of the game.

Jamarkus Alexander quickly wiped out the lead with one of his four 3-pointers on the night to put Oakwood back in front. But less than a minute later, it was Alvin Miles who found his way to the basket to give the Golden Bears a 51-50 lead with 13 minutes to go. The Ambassadors would not find themselves in front again for the rest of the contest. It was still a five-point game with four minutes left before Miles finally put the game out of reach. The Golden Bears scored buckets on four consecutive possessions - the first coming from Carroll, the last from Tolefree - that gave Miles a 77-64 lead, its largest of the game, with 2:26 left and Oakwood never got the deficit out of double figures.

Alexander had 22 points and Jordan Bell added 14 to lead four double-digit scorers for Oakwood. Carroll (25 points, eight rebounds) and Tolefree (18 points) each scored season highs, Corey Trotter added 10 points and six rebounds, and Miles (16 points, nine rebounds, nine assists) nearly had a triple double for the Golden Bears, who travel to face Tuskegee at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.