Feb. 16, 2008

Stats

ADRIAN, Mich. - The Britons of Albion College spoiled Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at the Merillat Center with a 69-64 double overtime win which kept them in second place in the MIAA standings. Adrian was a nine-point victim in the first meeting between the teams in Albion but made this contest an exciting one from start to finish.

Albion led 33-27 at halftime and in the second half both teams picked up their defense especially Adrian holding the Britons to 33.3 percent shooting in the second half. Albion had a three-point lead at 46-43 with 5:46 left in regulation. The Bulldogs tied the game at 50-50 with 1:50 left on a tough jumper by senior Ryan Gallus, who finished with 17 points, five assists and three steals in 46 minutes. Desmond Young put Adrian up a basket with 25 seconds left on a jumper from the wing with an assist from Gallus. Big man Drew Yancey saved the game for Albion as he putback his own miss with four seconds left to tie the game at 52-52. Senior Corey Smith had a chance to end things but his off-balance triple went long at the buzzer.

Adrian scored the first four points of the first overtime as Lamar Cardenas and Gallus converted in the first two possessions. A pair of Yancey free throws at the 2:49 mark tied the game at 56-56 for the eighth time. D.J. Mocini scored off an offensive rebound at the 1:07 mark to give Albion a 60-58 lead but Young was clutch hitting a mid-range jumper with 14 seconds left to send the game into double overtime. Dean Raven had a chance to win it but his 16-footer missed wide left of the target.

Adrian never led in double overtime and did not score a point in the first three minutes of the second extra session. Dwight VanHoesen made a pair of freebies to cut the lead to 64-62 at the 2:00 mark but Jim Cash matched him at the other end with 1:28 to play to give the Britons a four-point cushion. VanHoesen missed a pair at the line on the next Bulldog possession which sealed the fate of the black and gold.

Young finished with 23 points and was 7-of-7 at the stripe. VanHoesen finished with 12 points and six boards. Senior Ian Weber, the conference rebounding leader, grabbed 11 boards and recorded three steals before fouling out having played 33 minutes. Albion was 15-of-20 at the line including 8-of-10 in the overtimes. Adrian was 11-of-19 at the line but just 2-of-4 in the extra sessions. Adrian is now 9-13 overall and 4-8 in the MIAA.