ALMA, Mich. – As the regular season begins to wind down, the Alma College men's basketball team still eyes down a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament berth for a chance at the postseason. With four conference games remaining, Alma faced the Albion College Britons on Wednesday, February 11th inside Art Smith Arena, looking to pick up a win to help place them into the tournament. The Scots fought hard and hung close all night though the final minutes the Britons were able to pull away with a final score of 85-74 over the Scots.
Alma opened the game on a 7-4 scoring run to take a lead from tip-off over the opening five minutes of competition. Just minutes later the game would be knotted at 11 apiece which then led to Albion taking their first lead of the game with 12 minutes left in the first half. Alma regained the lead and put together a 10-0 run to take an eight-point lead with points coming from Korbin Heitzman, Joss Bradley, Grant Mossburg and Lucian Guerrazzi. Alma's largest lead of the game would come just moments later as they extended the Briton deficit to nine, which would then dissolve over a 10-0 run put together by the Britons to regain control of the lead with less than five left in the half. Alma again was able to piece together a five-point lead though again the Britons would tie the game back up with under a minute left. After a back-and-forth fast paced half, the Britons held a three-point lead over the Scots heading into the half, 43-40.
Alma scored first coming out of the break followed by six unanswered by Albion, led from their leading scorer Michael Umeh. Alma answered back with five consecutive points to bring it back to a one-possession game in the first five minutes of the latter half. Albion then slowly built another lead by seven over the next five minutes that again the Scots were able to dismiss and respond with seven in a row of their own to tie the game with eight minutes left. Alma fell stagnant for a moment as the Britons ran a nine-point lead up within four minutes, to put the Scots in a pressure situation, needing makes quick and defensive stops. The Britons would ultimately hold on to their several possession lead over the final minutes and Alma was in disbelief after hanging tight all game as their chances for another home win slipped away. The Britons were able to sneak out of Art Smith with an 85-74 win and help their chances at an MIAA tournament berth.
Three Scots found double figures in the game led by Heitzman with 23 points, Raine Rodich with 13 and Bradley with ten. Heitzman and Bradley each nabbed seven rebounds in the contest for the team-high whole Bradley also dished out eight assists and four steals. The Scots were able to shoot 42% from beyond the arc in the game, making five of 12 attempts.
Alma will now head on the road for their final time of the regular season on Saturday as they head to Adrian College for a date with the Bulldogs. Game time is scheduled for 3:00 PM.
