CLEVELAND, Ohio. — Goucher's Kevin Miles matched his career-high for points in a game by knocking down 33 this evening against Rochester Inst. of Technology.
Unlike last season's 33-point performance against Gallaudet, the one Miles accomplished against the Tigers resulted in a victory for his team. Their 84-68 triumph in the consolation game allowed the Gophers to finish in third place at the season-opening 2015 Stephanie Tubbs-Jones Memorial Tournament.
The senior guard was 11-for-22 from the field, including 2-of-6 on 3-point attempts, and made all nine of his free throws. He also grabbed seven rebounds during the 37 minutes he was on the court.
It was starting to look as though the Gophers (1-1) might gain control of the game when Tucker Canary landed a 3-point shot with just under nine minutes remaining in the first half because it gave them their first double-digit lead of the contest at 27-16. But head coach Tom Rose's squad still needed a layup by Miles with :29 showing on the clock to head into the locker room at halftime with a slim 36-34 advantage.
The Tigers (0-2) managed to close to within one point on four different occasions in the second half, but they never were able to wrest the lead from the Gophers.
Miles' point total stood at 20 following his layup that put Goucher up 54-50 with 11:20 left to play. He didn't add to it until he nailed a 3-pointer with 5:44 remaining to make the score 67-61.
Miles, who was Goucher's lone representative on the all-tournament team, secured eight of his final 10 points at the charity stripe.
Goucher had a second double-figure scorer in freshman guard Mychal Stefanides, who contributed 10 points to the victory.
Miles becomes only the fourth player in the history of Goucher's men's basketball program to score 33 or more points at least two times during his career. The first time was in a 75-71 loss to the Bison on Dec. 13, 2014.
The Gophers will go after their second win of the season Tuesday when they go to battle against Stevenson at 7 p.m.