By Scott DeWeerd, '15
The Albion College men's basketball team came up short against Mount Saint Joseph University Thursday night in a 61-57 overtime loss that featured two of Division III basketball's top defenses.
"They're a tournament caliber team," Head Coach Jody May said, impressed with the effort brought by the Mount Saint Joseph players. "They get in the passing lanes and force you to make one-on-one plays, and they do a good job bringing pressure at the right time."
But the Albion defense was equally impressive. The Lions came into the game averaging over 75 points per game while shooting 38 percent from beyond the three point line and 50 percent from the field overall The Britons held them to 61 points, 21 percent from beyond the three point line, and 36 percent from the field overall.
"We need to play great defense to win games," said May. "We did a good job of not giving up easy baskets."
Travell Oakes and Jordan Herron led Albion in scoring with 14 points apiece. Oakes added eight total rebounds, four of them offensive, and Herron added seven total rebounds. But the stellar play by the frontcourt duo was not enough as the Britons lost the rebound battle giving up 14 offensive boards.
"We can't get outrebounded," May said. "We're at our best when we're rebounding, but they were just faster and quicker to the ball tonight."
Carter Elliott also added seven boards while Vince Hill and Dakota Kazen contributed nine points apiece.
The defeat puts the Britons at 5-3 with the three losses coming by a combined 10 points.
"We've talked a lot about taking the next step and becoming a championship caliber team," May noted. "But we can't be satisfied with simply competing against great teams – we need to win."
The Britons head home for Christmas break and then travel to Whittier, Calif., for the Purple and Gold Poet Classic on December 29th for two final tune-ups before Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association play begins. Coach May expressed his appreciation for the Albion College alumni who have made the west coast trip possible.
"This trip is extremely important for our team," said May. "We're going to have a little bit of fun but it's a business trip, and we plan on taking care of business."
The Britons take on the University of Redlands at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.