BIRMINGHAM – Claflin held off a late threat from Miles to move on to the quarterfinal round with a 72-69 win on Tuesday at the Bill Harris Arena.
Claflin (16-13) led 41-27 at the break and tied its largest lead of the game at 14:37 mark of the second half, leading 52-37.
Patrell Rogers tied a game high 31 points to lead the Panthers going 12-of-21. Adolph Caldwell and Ryan McNeil-Moses each finished with 10 points apiece.
Miles(3-24) chopped the lead, 69-61, behind Tavin Cummings, and narrowed the gap with an 8-2 advantage after stealing a CU inbound pass and scoring with five seconds remaining to trail, 71-69.
However, a free throw by Michael Wynn sealed the victory for CU.
Cummings led the Golden Bears with 31 points and Maiscei Grier added 20, to help fuel the charge and help MC shoot 53 percent from the floor.
Larry Butler led all players with 10 rebounds.
Cummings shot 12-of-17 overall, including 9-of-11 in the second half. Grier hit 5-of-11 overall and hit three consecutive free throws under 10 seconds to give the Golden Bears a chance.
thesiac.com
