After a thrilling last second overtime win against an opponent that you hadn't beat in 16 years, a letdown might be expected the next time you took the floor. That is what the Alma College Men's Basketball team faced on Wednesday night when they traveled to Albion College for a MIAA tilt.

However, the opposite was true as the visiting Scots stormed out of the gate and scored the game's first nine points, appearing to be building on the momentum from four days earlier. Unfortunately, it would prove to be a tough shooting night for Alma and the Britons took advantage of that and too many Scots turnovers, winning the contest 61-56.

With the loss, Alma is now 4-5 in the MIAA and 6-14 overall, while Albion improved to 3-6 in the league and 10-10 in 2014-15.

"Tonight was a classic example of the hangover after a big win," said Alma Head Coach Sam Hargraves. "Of course, the last two days all we discussed was being ready to go but we were not. Turnovers were a problem and just simply being able to finish at the rim was a tall task. They defended us smart, challenged us to go one on one, and as a team, we were clearly not up to the challenge.

"It's not easy to win in conference and it's even harder to win on the road. I'm just very disappointed we didn't compete on offense tonight with confidence and play the way we are capable."

The Scots jumped out to a quick lead against the Britons, scoring the first nine points of the contest, with the last two being on a lay-up by Jr. G DJ Beckman (Shelby/Shelby) at the 16:24 mark. Albion responded by tallying the next 12 to take a 12-9 advantage with 10:06 remaining in the half.

Albion maintained a small lead for the next six minutes before the Scots tied it at 17-17 on a jumper by Fr. G Jason Beckman (Shelby/Shelby) at 4:35. However, Albion would then go on a 12-3 run for the remainder of the frame to take a 29-20 lead into the halftime break.

The Britons would extend their advantage to 34-20 at the 17:27 mark of the second frame and still led by ten, 42-32, after a jumper by Alma's DJ Beckman with 10:13 remaining in the contest. From this point on, the Scots would make it interesting and the game was in doubt until the final minute.

Alma cut their deficit to 42-37 on a free throw by Jr. G Scott Nikodemski (Rockford/Rockford) with 6:23 left and then Nikodemski put in a lay-up at the 4:42 mark to make it a 45-42 game. The closest the Scots would come however was two points, after a three-point play by Nikodemski with 2:37 remaining in the game.

But, Albion then took advantage of some missed Alma shots and outscored the visitors by a 6-1 margin over the next 3:30, gaining a 53-46 advantage with just 1:15 on the clock. The Britons were able to increase their lead to 10 points with just 10 ticks left on the clock, but the Scots never quit. The visitors scored the final five points, the last being a three-pointer by Nikodemski to make it a five-point deficit at the buzzer.

Nikodemski led all Alma scorers with 15 points and added six rebounds and two steals. Jason Beckman finished with 10 points, while DJ Beckman had nine points and a team-high nine rebounds in the loss.

Up next for the Scots is a date at Olivet College on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.