Edward Waters rode the momentum of the home crowd and a stifling defensive effort to a 58-55 home victory over previously unbeaten and D2SIDA South Region #6 ranked Miles in their home opener on Saturday afternoon at the Adams-Jenkins Community Sports & Music Complex.
Edward Waters (2-2, 2-2 SIAC) shot out to an 8-5 lead at the 16:47 mark of the first half before the Golden Bears (6-1, 1-1 SIAC) responded with a run of their own. Miles was able to cut into, take and build upon their advantage, leading by as many as six at the 8:47 mark. The Purple & Orange found a bit of a groove, responding to retake a five point edge at the 5:44 mark at 23-18. An 8-4 Golden Bear run to close the half cut the deficit to one with the Tigers clinging to a 27-26 lead at the break.
The second 20:00 of play was another tug of war between the two teams. Miles retook the advantage at 42-39 with 13:22 remaining. The Tigers then went on a 9-2 run to take the lead back at 48-44 with 7:48 left. The Golden Bears got to within two of the lead at the 3:31 mark, but two clutch free throws from co-captain Felix Hayes kept some distance at 54-50 with 2:59 left. Miles once again cut the deficit to one, but two more clutch free throws from Tavares Oliver pushed the Tiger lead to three at 58-55 with :21 remaining. Miles had an opportunity at a game-tying three pointer, but the shot went long as the Tigers held on for the upset win.
EWU and Miles were close in the statistics, with the Tigers narrowly outshooting the Golden Bears 34.9% to 34.4% in the contest. The Tigers also had a two rebound edge at 44-42 with both teams tying with 14 offensive boards apiece.
Transfer forward/center Larry Kuimi led the Tigers with a double-double performance of 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Tavares Oliver chipped in with 14 points on the evening.
Edward Waters will begin another long road trip, starting on Saturday, December 10th in Augusta, GA against Paine College with tip-off scheduled for 4:00pm.
Original source can be found here.
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