ALBION, Mich. – The road can be a tough place but when you bring a top-level defense on the floor it proves to be the great equalizer. Adrian men's basketball held their opponent under 40 percent shooting for the 11th time this season and broke a close game open with a 17-6 run in the final 7:24 as they improved to 15-3 overall and 4-3 in the MIAA with a 63-49 win at Albion.

Adrian also held its opponent under 50 points for the fifth time this season winning for the third straight time after starting the MIAA at 1-3. Adrian led 26-22 at halftime as both teams struggled to find offense. The Bulldogs shot 37 percent from the floor while Albion connected on just 32 percent.

Albion's final lead of the game came with 4:32 left in the first half. The Bulldogs took control of the game midway through the second half leading 42-33 with 10:51 to go. The Britons cut the lead down to three at 46-43 with 7:24 remaining and then Adrian's defense kicked it up a notch allowing just six points for the rest of the game.

Adrian got scoring contributions from two guys who broke out offensively. Junior Drew Torey scored a career-high 10 points coming into the game with just 51 career points. Torey went 4-of-8 from the floor in 26 minutes and committed no turnovers at the point guard spot. Freshman Rickey Jackson scored a career-high 12 points off the bench and also grabbed six rebounds. Jackson went 4-of-6 from the floor including 2-of-4 from the arc in 23 minutes.

Sophomore Eric Lewis led Adrian with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and is shooting 54.2 percent from the floor over the last four games. Lewis connected on 6-of-8 from the free throw line and also made three steals increasing his MIAA-leading total to 58. Adrian shot 55 percent (11-of-20) in the second half and Albion shot 40 percent and just 50 percent at the free throw line. Sophomore Adam Meier added 12 points and five rebounds. The Bulldogs shot 76 percent (19-of-25) from the free throw line which was five percentage points higher than their season average.