ALBION, Mich. – It took an improbable comeback, but Albion College's trend of alternating wins and losses continued Sunday. The Britons trailed 58-49 with eight minutes to play, but they finished the game on a 20-7 run to edge Denison University, 69-63, in non-league men's basketball action.
Albion does not play again until Dec. 20 and Coach Jody May said it was important for his squad to have a positive result going into the break.
"We just need to put together a string of consistency," May said after the Britons improved to 4-3.
Denison held a nine-point lead with 8:12 left when Casey Stockton knocked down the Big Red's fourth 3-point basket of the second half. Five of Denison's final seven points came at the free throw line. Larry Farmer produced the Big Red's only bucket down the stretch with a layup with 3:42 remaining.
Two offensive rebounds led to Kolin Kazen's layup with 5:50 left and that breathed life into the Albion rally. Lawrence Ridgell followed with a pair of free throws to pull Albion with three at 58-55.
Farmer's layup extended the Denison lead to five, but an offensive rebound led to an Anthony Wash "three". Luke Walker hit a pair of free throws to tie the score at 60, and Wash put Albion on top with a "three" from the top of the key with 1:28 left. Wash sank 3-of-5 shots from 3-point range in the game and scored in double figures for the fourth time this season.
"We just went and played," May said of the comeback. "We were reacting rather than thinking about it and making plays instead of hoping we would. We got into a flow the last five minutes."
Albion made 6-of-10 opportunities from the free throw line in the final minute, but Denison could not take advantage as it misfired on its last six shots.
The margin never exceeded six points in the first half and the opening 10 minutes of the second half were just as competitive. Denison reeled off seven points in a 1:17 span of the second half to build its nine-point cushion. Larry Farmer was the only Denison player to score in double figures, leading all players with 26 points.
Kazen, who hit a trio of 3-pointers in the first 3 ½ minutes of the second half, posted his third 20-point game of the season. Ridgell also reached double figures with 11. Carter Elliott recorded career highs of nine points and nine rebounds.