ALBION, Mich. – Albion College had its 18-point led whittled to three with five minutes to play, but the Britons stuck with their game plan to pull out a 83-76 victory over North Park University in non-league men's basketball action inside Kresge Gymnasium.

Albion was clinging to a 67-64 lead when Eric Evans and Carter Elliott scored on consecutive possessions and Elliott tacked on a free throw to push the margin back to eight with 3:15 left.

"We got back to pounding the ball inside," Albion Head Coach Jody May said.

Mark Holmes knocked down a 3-point shot for North Park to make the score 77-73 with a minute left, but that was as close as the Vikings would get. Evans and Anthony Wash combined to go 6-for-6 from the free throw line as Albion finished its fourth victory of the season.

Evans led Albion on a 7-0 run to start the game and it never trailed in the contest. Mike Smith tacked on a pair of free throws as Albion seized a double-digit lead, 13-3, with 13:20 left in the first half. Albion led by as many as 15 before settling for a 42-30 lead at halftime.

Albion's frontcourt continued to produce early in the second half as Smith flushed an alley-oop pass and Leonard Wernette-Leff added a pair of layups.

Ryan Hyrn produced a pair of 3-point shots to ignite North Park's run. Chris Benjamin and Hyrn connected from long range on consecutive possessions as North Park trailed 67-64. Hyrn led all players with 23 points, sinking 6-of-9 shots from beyond the arc.

Albion finished with six players scoring in double figures, led by Evans' career-high 19. Wernette-Leff also reached a career-high with 12. Smith collected his first career double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Zach Hurth led the backcourt with 11 points and Elliott and Jordan Herron contributed 10 points apiece.

Albion returns to action Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. game at local rival Spring Arbor University.