ROME, Ga. - Tim Miles scored 18 of his 26 points in the first half and scored Berry's final four points as the Vikings opened the 2010-11 men's basketball season with an 80-79 victory over Truett-McConnell College Tuesday at Berry's Cage Center.
Berry trailed 77-72 with 2:49 remaining in the game, but put together an 8-0 run to go ahead 80-77, and then survived the Bears' final possession, to close out the victory.
"I'm so pleased with the way we faced adversity, trailing late and showing some toughness and getting the win," Berry coach Jeff Haarlow said. "It says a lot for our guys and their character.
The late run was the second big streak of the game for Berry, which used a 32-13 first-half run to turn a nine-point deficit midway through the period into a 10-point advantage with 40 seconds remaining in the half.
Before that, Truett-McConnell held the lead for more than 12 minutes after taking a 3-2 lead two minutes into the contest.
After fighting back from the nine-point early deficit, the Vikes finally tied the score 29-29 when Cass LeBlanc scored on a turnaround move in the paint with 5:43 to go in the half. Mac Whalen put Berry ahead 32-29 with a three-pointer 53 seconds later, and Berry would take a 44-38 advantage into the lockerroom at halftime.
Miles was 5-for-6 from the field in the first 20 minutes, including 4-for-5 from beyond the three-point arc.
"Tim is a special shooter and he was feeling it tonight," Haarlow said. "I thought we did a pretty good job of figuring out how to get him shots. That's a sign of a pretty experienced team."
Berry would hold the lead until Roderick Bombard drilled back-to-back three pointers midway through the second half, the second of which gave TMC a 67-62 lead with 8:40 remaining in the game.
Berry roared back to take a 68-67 lead on another trey by Miles at the 7:20 mark, but the Bears regained the advantage and went ahead 74-68. Berry would fight back to within 77-76 on Kendall Gadie's layup with 2:15 remaining and take a 78-77 lead when Miles nailed a pair of free throws with 1:31 to play.
Each team would have other opportunities to score in the next 1:15, but Miles finally gave the Vikings a cushion with a pair of free throws with 16 seconds to play to make the score 80-77. Truett-McConnell had one last opportunity to tie, but Bombard missed a three-point attempt with a second left. The ball glanced off a Berry player and out of bounds, but the Bears were unable to find an open man in three-point territory and settled for a layup as time expired.
Miles also joined teammates LeBlanc and David Holloman for game-high honors with nine boards. LeBlanc and Gadie each joined Miles in double figures with 10 points apiece.
Bombard scored a game high 27 points for the Bears, while Tulio Yamasita added 17 and Deric Ware chipped in 10.
Berry outrebounded TMC 42-32 and took advantage of 19-for-22 shooting from the charity stripe. Truett-McConnell hit just 7 of 12 free throw attempts.
"I thought we did a great job on the boards tonight, and hitting 19-of-22 from the free throw line was really big for us," Haarlow said.
The Vikings return to action Friday against Rust College on the first day of the Birmingham-Southern Invitational.
- BerryVikings.com -
