By Travis Tekiele, '13

Albion avenged a 27-point loss to Olivet earlier in the season by opening the second half of Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association action with a 71-58 victory.

The Britons began the game strong, leading for all but 14 seconds of the half of play.  Eric Evans buried a 3-pointer with 7 ½ minutes remaining to give Albion a 23-11 lead, its largest of the half.

Olivet's Dakotah Ellis and Garner Small scored the final 7 points of the half to bring the Comets within four going at halftime.

The first five minutes of the second half began with a 14-4 run by Olivet, who took over the lead 42-36.

Albion coach Jody May called a timeout and said that he reminded his players to play the game in segments.

"I told them not to put their head down when things go bad, just visualize good things happening, and that they don't have to get everything back in one possession," May said.

It's safe to say that the team received the message.

Albion regained the lead on back-to-back layups by Justin Beal and Eric Evans with 12 minutes to go in the game. The Britons never looked back, as Beal, Jordan Herron, Evans, and Ryan Watson – all first-year student-athletes – led the team on 21-6 run over 7 minutes. Watson drained a pair of 3-point baskets, while Evans scored nine of his 12 points during the run.

Albion cruised from there to gain its first league victory of the season.

 "It's a great feeling," May said. "I'm really happy for our guys.  They've been working really hard, and we've been close in games, and it's nice to get over the hump."

Olivet's Dakotah Ellis led all players with 17 points, while Garner Small and T.J. Vondette each tallied 13.

Chris Hutton led Albion with 15 points. Herron added 12.