The Scots Win! The Alma College men's basketball team hosted Albion College on Thursday night in a key MIAA match-up between two teams fighting for position in the standings and the hometown Scots pulled away late for a thrilling 82-71 victory.

Alma outscored the Britons by a margin of 29-11 over the final 8:45 of the game and knocked down six three-pointers, including three by Sr. F Isiah Law (Grand Haven/Grand Haven). That scorching display of shooting put the game away for the Scots and put Albion in a state of disbelief as to what was happening to them.

For the game, Law tied a career-high with 30 points (also did it against North Park) and broke a school record with eight three pointers (previous record was seven).

The Scots now have an overall record of 4-15 and 3-5 in the MIAA after the contest, while Albion leaves town at 11-9 in 2013-14 and 5-4 in the league.

"We put in a pretty solid defensive effort tonight," said Alma Head Coach Sam Hargraves. "Didn't do it for 40 minutes, but it was better and we made them make some tough shots. Our energy was there when it counted and we made the shots that were open for us in the second half."

After an early basket by Albion, the Scots took a 3-2 lead on a three-pointer by Law at the 19:29 mark. The Britons scored the next eight points and led 10-3 with 16:06 remaining in the half but that was followed by a 11-2 Alma run that culminated with a Law three-pointer.

Alma maintained the lead for a good chunk of the first half as they were up 24-18 at 5:18 after two free throws by Sr. G Brandon Krause (Sanford/Meridian) and still up four at 31-27 after two more Law makes from the charity stripe with 2:12 left in the frame.

However, Albion ended the first half on a 7-2 run that gave them the slim one-point advantage at 34-33 as both teams headed into the lockerroom. The Britons shot 48% in the first half (13 of 27) while Alma was good on 40% of their attempts (10 of 25).

The second half was close throughout before the Scots connected on a flurry of three's late in the game that wrestled control from the Britons. The visitors never ran away from the Scots and the game had the feel of going down to the wire. Albion had their last significant lead at seven points, 58-51, before the wheels fell of their wagon and the Scots took over the game.

Feeding off the energy of a vocal and enthusiastic crowd at Art Smith Arena, the Scots began their run with just under nine minutes remaining and turned the seven-point deficit into a final margin of victory of 11.

In the frenzied final eight minutes, the Scots connected on six three-pointers - three from Law and one each from So. G Scott Nikodemski (Rockford/Rockford), So. F DJ Beckman (Shelby/Shelby) and big Fr. C Ivy Johnson (Rockford/Rockford). That, coupled with a suffocating defense, put the Britons away and led the Scots to the important 11-point MIAA victory.

Next up for Alma is Olivet College on Saturday evening at the Art. Tip-off for yet another important league tilt is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and will conclude the annual Pink Day festivities that will begin with the women's games earlier in the day.