SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Miles erased a double-digit, first-half deficit and scored the final 13 points of the game en route to a 25-17 win over Savannah State Saturday night at Theodore Wright Stadium. Roarke Davis kicked four field goals - two in each half - and
Brinley Vandiver's touchdown pass to
Jaiden Jones late in the fourth quarter gave the Golden Bears the lead for good. The defense then sealed the deal with the last of its four forced turnovers to give Miles (2-3, 2-1 SIAC) back-to-back wins.
The Golden Bears trailed 17-15 early in the fourth quarter when quarterback
Brinley Vandiver lead the team on an eight-play, 64-yard drive that took nearly four-and-a-half minutes.He converted on a third-down play that saw him connect with Jones for seven yards. His 15-yard scramble with the big play on the drive before finding Jones across the middle on an 18-yard pitch-and-catch that put Miles ahead 22-17 with 9:37 left.
The teams traded two fruitless possessions, the last Savannah State drive stunted by a big third-down sack by
Kingston Lowe (three tackles, 1.5 sacks), one of three sacks on the game for the Miles defense. On the ensuing possession,
Jaecyn Myles flipped the field with a 26-yard run. A big pass interference penalty set up the Golden Bears deep in SSU territory, where Davis finished the drive with a 26-yard field goal with 1:45 remaining. The sophomore kicker also made field goals from 42, 46 and 29 yards.
The Tigers (0-4, 0-3) had a final opportunity to tie the game late. A big pass play and a pass interference call pushed SSU to the Miles 14-yard line. But
Antonio White, Jr. picked off a Rashawn Truell pass in the end zone with 43 seconds left to put an end to the final scoring threat and allowed the Golden Bears to finish the game in the victory formation with a couple of kneel downs.
The defense held Savannah State to just 210 yards of total offense with turnovers recovered by
Christian Kelley (five tackles, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble and fumble recovery),
Vintavious Johnson (interception) and
Andre Gianopoulos (fumble recovery).
Steven Jones had a team-high seven tackles and a sack and
Hayden McDonald also had two tackles and teamed with Lowe for a sack.
Miles is back in action next week for Homecoming, when it hosts Savannah State. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Â
