By Scott DeWeerd

The Albion College men's basketball team suffered a gut-wrenching loss Wednesday night to Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association rival Olivet College. Despite leading most of the second half, the Britons allowed Olivet to claw their way back into the game in the final minutes before giving up six unanswered points in the 62-58 loss. 

"You have to give a lot of credit to Olivet," said Albion Head Coach Jody May. "We made a run at the end of the first half and then came out hot in the second half. They could have folded but instead they climbed back into the game." 

Tied at 26 with two minutes remaining in the first half, the Britons made a thrilling run to take a six-point lead at intermission. The game marked the first opportunity for many students to see the Britons play during the spring semester and the home team fed off the raucous crowd's energy as they took center stage for the second half. The Britons extended their lead to eight points when a Dakota Kazen three-pointer landed swift and hard after three consecutive offensive rebounds on the same possession by Travell Oakes. The blow made the score 47-39 and the Britons maintained the eight-point margin, 52-44, with 11 minutes to play. 

Olivet held Albion scoreless over a four minute stretch while tacking on seven points of its own, and for the first time since the three minute mark in the first half the Comets had taken the lead. 

"The effort was there," May said about his team's performance. "We did a lot of things well, but we need to continue to get better." 

Junior Lucas Marble made his presence felt in the first half, collecting four rebounds while playing suffocating defense. "Lucas is a great player," said May about the wing from Sparta. "He's started the last three games for us now, and he can bring a lot to our offense." Marble ended the game with five points and five rebounds in 16 minutes. 

Carter Elliott, Travell Oakes, and Jordan Herron each stuffed the box score as well. Elliott finished with six points, nine rebounds, and three blocks. Oakes finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. And Herron finished with seven points and 11 rebounds. 

Kazen also added nine points, all on three-pointers, while freshman Robert Ryan had an efficient six points in three shots from the field. 

Albion dominated the glass collecting 47 rebounds to Olivet's 27 while holding a potent Olivet offense to just 22-of-57 from the field. But the Britons couldn't overcome 16 turnovers and 7-of-30 shooting from long-range. 

Albion returns to the hardwood Saturday when it heads to Trine University for a 3 p.m.contest.