Feb. 25, 2009

Final Stats

ALBION, Mich. - The season ended for the men's basketball team on Wednesday night as they lost 87-81 at Albion in the MIAA Tournament Quarterfinals. Adrian (8-17) and Albion (15-10) took part in an old-fashioned shootout in the first half as the Bulldogs led 46-44 at intermission.

Albion came out on a hot streak from behind the arc making their first three to take a 9-4 lead at the 17:47 mark. Adrian tied the game at 9-9 at the 16:52 mark on a Desmond Young layup, but did not take the lead until the 5:04 mark of the opening half. Michael Staley hit a three-pointer to put the Bulldogs ahead and Adrian stayed that way into the locker room. Matt Wayne shot 8-of-8 in the first half from the floor and had 17 points, two rebounds and two blocks in 15 minutes. Adrian shot 66.7 percent in the first half (18-of-27) and were 9-of-9 from the charity stripe. Albion got 14 first-half points from Andre Bridges and were 7-of-10 from the arc in the first 20 minutes.

The lead changed hands a couple of times in the second half as Albion regained a lead at 50-49 less than two minutes into the second half. Adrian captured the lead at 53-52 with 13:48 remaining on a Young jumper. J.C. Cruse hit a pair of free throws to give Albion a 61-60 lead with 9:44 to play. Adrian opened up their largest lead of the game at 67-61 with 7:05 to play after a long triple by Staley.

The Britons went on a 12-2 run from the 5:08 mark to the 1:55 mark which spelled doom for the Bulldogs. The key stretch saw Robbie Clark hit a triple and Dave Elliott make three straight layups. Albion led 76-72 after the run and Adrian had to play catch up. The Britons made eight straight free throws over a 34-second span to salt away a trip to the MIAA Semifinals.

Wayne scored a career-high 23 points on 10-of-11 shooting from the floor and 3-of-3 at the line in 27 minutes. Young playing in his final game scored 17 points and ended her career 11th all-time in Adrian history in scoring. He was 8-of-14 from the floor and had five assists. Staley scored 17 points and dished out nine assists. He struggled from the floor going 4-of-14 but was 7-of-8 at the free throw line. Adrian shot 44 percent in the second half and Albion finished the game going 33-of-42 at the foul line.