HOLLAND, Mich. – A much-needed, incredible win.
On the road in one of the toughest venues in front of a packed crowd, the Albion College men's basketball team gritted its way to a 75-68 win over Hope College on Saturday night. The win hands Hope their first conference loss of the season.
Off the bench,
Ken Thomas provided a spark, scoring a career-high 22 points.
Justin McAbee continued to be a vital part of the Albion success, scoring 17 points and hauling in nine rebounds. Down the stretch, he was a clutch 7 for 8 from the free throw line.
Bolstered by four 3-pointers,
Cortez Garland also finished in double figures, scoring 15.
Trailing 13-7 six minutes into the game, Thomas single handedly put the Britons back in business with six straight points. Down by one, a layup midway through the first half from Thomas pushed the Brits back in front, 19-18.
Fred Garland added to the lead with a nice layup from the left side. One minute later, sharp-shooting
Chanse Crittendon buried a three off a pass from
Jonathan Armstead-Wilkerson, building the lead to six.
Cortez Garland's fast break layup off a steal increased the lead to eight points, Albion's largest of the half.
With 6:12 before the half,
Cortez Garland drained another 3-pointer, giving the visitors a 32-25 advantage. Albion would maintain the lead for the remainder of the period, letting Hope come no closer than three points. The Britons led 41-38 at the half, buoyed by Thomas's 17 points in the period.
Out of the half,
Cortez Garland knocked down a deep triple from the edge of the Hope logo, inflating the lead to six. It gave the Britons the momentum to hold the lead for the entirety of the second half, leaving with a key conference win.
Albion only led by double-digits once, midway through the second half when Armstead-Wilkerson connected on a step back three from the corner. The 11-point lead was quickly trimmed by Hope, as they made one more late run.
The Flying Dutchmen would go on to cut the lead to three on multiple occasions, but Albion consistently had an answer. In their best showing this season, the Britons cashed in on 15 of 19 attempts from the foul line.
Hope dominated the Britons on the glass, as Albion allowed 22 offensive boards, leading to 25 second chance points for the hosts.
Hope was ice cold from beyond the arc, recording an 0 of 16 mark in the second half. For the contest, the Flying Dutchmen connected on just 15.6 percent of its 3-pointers.
After Hope's Jeff Bikus scored 20 points in the first half, the Brits were able to get him in foul trouble and limit his damage, not scoring in the second half.
Albion improves to 7-8 overall and 3-1 in the MIAA.
The Britons will be back on the road on Wednesday when they travel to Olivet College. Tip off against the Comets is slated for 7:30 p.m.
