After trailing by a million points, Savannah State bounced back against Miles on Monday, tied the game, forced overtime and then dominated in extra minutes for a 73-63 win.
The Tigers improved to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in their Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) schedule. Miles fell to 6-2 overall and 2-2 in SIAC. The Golden Bears moved up to the No. 8 spot in the D2SIDA South Region Poll on Monday, before playing in Tiger Arena.
Miles opened Monday's game with a 13-3 run. By the half, they led 33-21 and were in full control. Savannah State struggled to get any shots to drop, managing a 29% clip from the floor in the opening half while Miles couldn't miss, hitting 59% of their field-goal attempts.
Thirty seconds into the second half, Miles took a 35-21 advantage on a field goal from Makai Vassell—their largest of the game. Things were not looking for Savannah State.
But the scrappy Tigers refused to go away. Moments after going down by 14 points, Larson Ashford sparked a 12-2 run over three minutes that cut Miles' lead to 37-33. The Tigers were in it, and they knew it.
Over the next four minutes of play, Savannah State kept Miles from running the score back up with forced turnovers. They also found their legs on offense.
Chancellor Wilson hit two good free-throws at the 9:20 mark to tie the game at 49 all. Aly Keys dropped a little floater right in the middle of the paint at the 8:32 mark for the Tigers' first lead of the half.
The final eight minutes were tense with every good play from SSU earning loud cheers from the home crowd.
Miles pushed back out to a 7-point advantage with 3:22 to play. But, again, Savannah State refused to go away. Keys, Javonte Landy and Eleik Bowles combined for a huge 7-0 run to tie it up at 61 with 1:18 to play.
After Bowles sank a free-throw, Miles was bringing the ball down the court, when Landy, seemingly out of nowhere, rushed up and took at steal at midcourt. The home crowd went wild as the clock ticked away.
The turnover didn't result in a score, but the solid defensive effort was enough to keep SSU alive as the buzzer sent the game into overtime.
Miles scored first in OT. Rodney Battle hit a field goal just outside the paint giving the visitor's a 63-61 lead.
But that would be it for the Golden Bears.
Ayjay Plain drained a three-point jump shot seconds later. Keys followed that with second chance field goal and Landy drained a three-pointer after that. The quick 8-0 run and some tough defensive play was more than enough for the Tigers to get the 10-point win.
Savannah State shot 60% from the field in overtime while Miles went 20% from the floor. The Tigers outscored them 12-2 in overtime and 40-28 in the second half.
Five Savannah State players finished in double figures on the night. Plain led with 12 points. Landy finished with a season-high 11 points while Eleik Bowles, Elavian Bowles and Key all put up 10 points.
The Tigers will finish the calendar year on the road with visits to Tuskegee (Dec. 15), and Spring Hill (Dec. 17), before returning to Tiger Arena on Jan. 2, 2023.
Original source can be found here
Alerts Sign-up