ALMA, Mich. – The Alma College men's basketball team faced a familiar foe on Saturday, January 27th, inside Art Smith Arena as they hosted the Albion Britons. The Scots found themselves in a close-knit match up once again in a game that needed overtime once again. The Scots found a way to make some crucial stops in the extra frame and were able to come away victorious 68-65.
The leading scorer of the night, Tyshaun Walker, opened the scoring for the game with a three ball to put Alma up early. The Scots built upon the make with another coming from Colton Meister in the paint to take a two-possessions lead early. The Britons would eventually get on the board as well and lessen the deficit before taking their first lead of the game with 14 minutes left in the first half. Both teams would trade the lead for some time before Albion slowed down the Scots fast-paced offense and were able to take their largest lead of the half, up seven with nine minutes left. The Scots would fight back through the deficit down to one-possession around the four-minute mark before Walker would drill a three to give Alma the lead once again. A late three by Donovan Collins kept the Alma lead before a 6-0 run from the Britons ended the half, putting the Scots down 34-31 before the second frame.
Gabe Bourdeau opened the second half for Alma knocking down a shot behind the arc to tie the game before Nolan Boffman made a quick layup and forced the Britons to use a timeout early. The Scots would hold the lead until the halfway point of the half as Albion fought back and took their first lead since halftime. Heading down into crunch time, both teams found ways to score and traded the lead before the Scots were able to push it to two-possessions with just over four minutes remaining. Following a three from the Britons that tied the game with a minute and a half remaining, neither team would find a way to score for the rest of regulation, including a buzzer-beater by the Britons that bounced around the rim by did not fall.
Albion opened the scoring in overtime but would be held scoreless following the bucket for an extended period of time. Three straight layups from Boffman, Walker, and Colton Meister to pull away and create some insurance as time ticked down. After some late free-throws from the Britons and a three that found its way to the back of the basket, Alma sealed the game at the line with a Connor Riley free-throw and scored a second consecutive conference win by close margin.
Walker led all scorers on the floor with 23 in the game, followed by Riley and Meister who both scored 13 for the Scots. Walker and Boffman both tied for the team lead with nine rebounds and Riley led all players with eight assists in the game. The Scots also made use of Britons turnovers as they were able to score nine off of them as well as tallying 12 fast break points.
The Scots will continue their conference home stand as the nationally ranked Knights of Calvin University will come to town on Wednesday, January 31st at 7:00 PM.
