ALMA, Mich. -- A monstrous first half vaulted the Albion College men's basketball team over Alma College, 86-73, in their MIAA opener. The Britons held an 18-point lead at the half and held on for the victory.

Cortez Garland continued his breakout junior year with a game-high 22 points on an 8 of 12 night from the floor. The junior also dished out four assists in the win.

Senior Caden Ebeling eclipsed the 600 career rebound mark, bringing down a game-high 12 boards. He scored 20 points, highlighted by a perfect 12 for 12 from the foul line.

Devin Holmes recorded a career-high 11 rebounds while Juwan Perry added 10 points for Albion.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Out of the tip, Albion had total control of the game. The Britons jumped out to a 28-8 lead just 11 minutes into the contest. In that stretch, Albion connected on four triples from four different players -- Perry, Garland, Holmes and freshman Chanse Crittendon.

Alma slowly chipped away at the Albion lead, but the Brits still held a significant 42-24 advantage at the break.

With 14:44 on the clock, the Scots used a run that spanned just over five minutes to trim Albion's lead to 10 points. Crittendon silenced the hosts with another trey out of a timeout, giving Albion a 63-60 lead.

Alma's last run was once again halted by an Albion 3-pointer -- this one coming off the hand of Garland. With 3:58 remaining, the Britons held a 14-point lead, one Alma would not be able to erase.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

On the night of Ebeling's 600th career rebound, women's basketball forward Rain Hinton also grabbed her 600th career board in the team's win over Alma.

The Britons were nearly perfect from the free throw line, connecting on 26 of 27 free throws. Albion shot 38 percent from beyond the arc. The visitors struggled, committing 17 turnovers compared to Alma's six.

With double-digit rebound performances by Ebeling and Holmes, the Brits outrebounded Alma, 45-15.

QUOTES FROM THE COACH

"Any win on the road is a good one, and we won the game with our defense in the first half," said head coach Jody May. "We made some defensive mistakes in the second half, but we had built up a comfortable lead to withstand their run."

May on Ebeling's milestone: "I'm very happy for Caden to reach another milestone of 600 rebounds. It's a credit to all of the hard work he has put in."

Albion improves to 4-2 overall and opens conference action at a 1-0 mark. The Scots slip to 2-5, 0-1 in the MIAA. This is the third consecutive season the Britons have opened conference play 1-0.

On Thursday, Albion is slated to host Calvin University for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. The schedule is subject to change, and we will keep you posted on gobrits.com.