Box Score BIRMINGHAM, AL –
Jamaal Garror led three Wildcats in double digits as he posted a double-double 27-points and 10 rebounds as Fort Valley State University (FVSU) (13-15) defeated Miles College 88-82 Monday in the first round one of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Basketball Tournament at the Bill Harris Arena. With the victory, the Wildcats move on to play Morehouse College Wednesday at 3:15 p.m.
Garror made 7-of-15 baskets from the floor, 2-of-5 three's and hit 11-of-13 free throws while
Tyler Edwards followed with 24-points, six rebounds and went 6-of-7 at the foul line.
Walter Foster led the Wildcats with a game-high 13-rebounds, nine-points, 3-of-4 in free throws while blocking five shots.
Jaylon McMillan added 16-points, hit 3-of-6 shots from behind the arc and drained 3-of-3 free throws.
FVSU outrebounded MC 42-38 but turned the ball over 18 times to MC's 10. The Wildcats fell short in the paint by two points as MC scored 26-24 points. Mc outscored FVSU 16-12 off turnovers, both teams collected 14-points apiece on second-chance shots with the Wildcats getting 17-points to 12 off fast breaks.
The Wildcats largest lead of 15-points came at the 10:24 mark in the second half and the Golden Bears led by five in the first half with 12:08 left.
Carl Garcia and Sheldon Wright lead the Golden Bears with 24 and 21-points each while Robert Jones pulled down 10 boards.
The Wildcats went to intermission up 30-28. Edwards' jumper gave FVSU the early two-point lead but MC came back with six points of their own to retake a 6-2 lead. With an assist from Bryant,
Chris Smoak hit a 3-pointer to increase the lead to 18-14. Edwards stole the ball and drove the length of the court giving FVSU a 20-16 advantage with 7:53 left. Edwards and Foster's layups increased the lead to 6 (24-18) with 6:07 remaining before halftime. Miles tied the game at 26 with 2:47 left. Garror's two foul shots put the Wildcats back out front 28-26. Then with the score tied at 28, Garror hit another two free throws for the 30-28 halftime score.
The Golden Bears came out in the second half on fire scoring five-points (33-30) to take the lead. Garror started the second with a 3-pointer and a foul shot for the 47-39 score with 12:57 left. Edwards' 3-pointer improved the score 50-41, then McMillan's hit a three increasing the lead to 53-41. Edwards' once again drained a three-pointer for a 15 (56-41) point lead with 10:24 left. The Bears broke the ice with two free throws 43-56 but Garror's jumper made it 58-43. The Wildcats were hit with a technical foul sending the Golden Bears to the line for two shots 45-58. McMillan's 3-pointer gave FVSU another 13 (62-49) point advantage with 8:05 remaining. With 4:42 left the Wildcats were up 70-59 before MC made a 3-pointer and two free throws to cut the lead to 6 (70-64). Edwards made a three-point play off a layup and a foul shots for the 73-64 score.
