Courtesy of Miles College Athletics :
On the night that players from the Miles’ 2018-19 men’s basketball team received their rings for winning the SIAC title, the current band of Golden Bears showed why they could very well do it again this season.
Miles opened a 15-point lead in the first half, watched as it nearly all went away early in the second half, then turned the screws on the defensive end to post a 65-50 win over Oakwood Monday night at Knox-Windham Gymnasium. Avery Brown scored a game-high 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting to pace the Golden Bears (3-0) while the Ambassadors shot just 29 percent from the field in the second half to remain winless (0-10) on the season.
Liberally substituting players in the first half, Miles was able to get hot from the outside to give it some breathing room. Darius Williams (9 points) drained three consecutive 3-balls to give the Golden Bears a nine-point lead with just less than eight minutes left in the first half. Ryan Calhoun (8 points) knocked down two more, the second coming with 1:31 left in the period to give Miles a 35-21 advantage. The team went 7-of-14 from beyond the 3-point stripe in the first half and went into the break with a 38-23 lead.
But Oakwood would come out firing to start the second half. The Ambassadors’ first five buckets were 3-pointers and at the 14:30 mark, they trailed just 42-40. But the Golden Bears were able to finally tighten up on the defensive end, forcing some difficult takes from the field and allowing Oakwood to make just three field goals the remainder of the game. Brown, who made all four of his shots from the field in the first half, had his midrange game working, which opened up some drives to the basket later. Miles also dominated on the glass, outrebounding Oakwood 53-26.
DeSham Hotabah-During had 10 points and Marquise Hudson had 3 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists for Oakwood. Richard Feagin had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. and Frank Royles had 6 points and a team-high 7 rebounds for Miles, which plays at Auburn Montgomery on Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
