KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Kolin Kazen kept Albion College alive in the race for a position in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament by scoring six points in the final 2:35 as the Britons walked out of the Anderson Athletic Center with a 53-48 victory over Kalamazoo College.
Albion (10-13 overall, 6-6 MIAA) trails the three 7-5 squads in the league – Adrian College, Calvin College and Trine University – by a game entering the final week of the regular season. The top four teams in the standings advance to the tournament, and Albion's final week includes a Wednesday road trip to Alma College and a Saturday home game against Adrian.
Joe Prepolec made the first of two shots from the free throw line to give Kalamazoo a 43-35 lead with 6:46. The Hornets went into a tailspin from there, hitting 1-of-10 shots from the field down the stretch. Kalamazoo's only basket was a Prepolec dunk and it went scoreless for the final 2:53.
The Kalamazoo misses were magnified when Zach Hurth and Kazen combined to sink 2-of-4 free throws to pull the Britons within six. Kazen gave Albion a spark with an old-fashioned three-point play with 5:39 remaining and another layup with 4:55 left.
An Alex Harville "three" tied the score at 47 with 3:14 to play and Albion took the lead for good on Kazen's layup with 2:35 on the clock. The teams traded missed shots until Kazen hit all four of his free throws in the final 12 seconds.
Kazen finished his eighth 20-point game of the season with 22 points, hitting 7-of-14 shots from the floor and 8-of-9 from the line. He added 13 rebounds to earn his fourth double-double in league play.
Harville, 3-of-6 from 3-point range, contributed 11 points.
Prepolec was Kalamazoo's high scorer with 14.