Although there was a lot of offense all afternoon, in the end it came down to a key defensive play by the Britons to seal it. After senior guard Michael Thomas made one of two free-throws to push Albion's lead to two with 13 seconds remaining, he stuffed the Cougars' final chance to tie the game by stripping Micah Lancaster in the lane on a hard drive.
Cougar Mike Folkert picked up the loose ball in the lane, but he, too, was stripped by Albion junior guard Rick Palmer and Thomas picked up the ball and ran out the clock.
When asked whether the steal or his go-ahead layup with 50 seconds left, which gave Albion a 75-73 lead, was the bigger play, Thomas had no doubt it was the steal. He asked Briton head coach Mike Turner to let him guard Lancaster, who had 18 points, and Turner made the switch with about two minutes remaining after Lancaster made some big buckets.
"We needed that steal," Thomas said. "That was the most important (play) right there."
The game was Albion's first real nailbiter this season (they had won five out of their previous six by more than 10 points), and Turner said he learned a lot about his team's character.
"I found out that hey, we've got pretty tough guys here," he said. "I found out that we can fight through that (adversity). I like the fact that they could come through."
Albion was led by four players in double figures. Despite playing just 25 minutes because of foul trouble, junior forward Brandon Crawford put in 15 points and grabbed six rebounds. Thomas added 13 as did sophomore guard Zak Silas who came off the bench. Sophomore guard Lonny Fulse scored 10 points and played his best floor game of the year, not turning the ball over in 30 minutes.
Senior forward Travis DePree played his usual all-around solid game, scoring nine points, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out five assists in just 23 minutes of action.
DePree, Crawford and junior forward Garrett Gibbons all picked up their third fouls in the first two minutes of the second half, leaving the Albion bench with a huge burden to fill. The Cougars started the half strong, turning a 41-32 halftime deficit into just a 41-38 Albion lead two minutes in, and they tied the game at the 16-minute mark and took the lead half a minute later.
But the Britons responded, and from that point on it was a back-and-forth battle. The game was tied nine times in the second half and the lead changed hands eight times. Neither team held a lead bigger than four points after Spring Arbor started the half strong.
After the Cougars took a 67-63 lead with 6:53 remaining, Albion took a timeout and responded with a 4-0 burst. Again the Cougars took a four-point lead, 71-67, but again the Britons responded, getting layups from DePree and Thomas to tie the contest with 3:30 left. Albion would not trail again.
With the foul trouble, Albion's bench contributed 31 points. In addition to Silas, junior guard Mike Bailey scored eight points in 17 minutes of action, and senior center Will Braaksma added five.
In the first half Albion relied on three-point shooting to build its nine-point halftime advantage. The Britons made 7-of-15 three-point field goals, including two by Thomas and Silas. This made up for the foul trouble, as DePree and Crawford played just eight minutes apiece.
Leading just 34-31 with 2:40 left in the period, Albion used a 7-1 run to end the half.
"They're a good team. This is a good win for us. We knew they'd come in hard," Thomas said.
Spring Arbor was led by Folkert's 19 points and Lancaster's 18.
Albion remained undefeated (7-0) with the win. Spring Arbor fell to 10-5.
The Britons now have eight days off before heading to Phoenix, Ariz., Dec. 27 for the Cactus Jam. Albion's first game is against Mount Union College, Ohio.
SPRING ARBOR UNIVERSITY (10-5) Mike Folkert 8-14 0-0 19; Micah Lancaster 6-12 6-7 18; DaJuan Jefferson 4-10 0-0 9; Jason Desmyter 2-5 4-5 8; Josh Desmyter 3-3 1-1 7; Mac Miller 2-3 0-0 6; Michael Hinkle 1-1 2-2 4; Chad Edmonds 1-2 0-0 2; Brad Hinkle 0-3 2-4 2; Kevin Bruinsma 0-0 1-2 1; Kyle Maury 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-53 16-21 76. ALBION COLLEGE (7-0) Brandon Crawford 5-8 5-5 15; Mike Thomas 5-14 1-2 13; Zak Silas 5-6 0-0 13; Lonny Fulse 4-10 2-2 10; Travis DePree 3-11 2-2 9; Mike Bailey 2-4 3-4 8; Will Braaksma 2-2 1-1 5; Rick Palmer 1-2 0-0 3; Evan Way 1-3 0-0 2; Garrett Gibbons 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-60 14-16 78. Spring Arbor University....... 32 44 - 76 Albion College................ 41 37 - 78 3-point goals-Spring Arbor University 6-17 (Mike Folkert 3-6; Mac Miller 2-3; DaJuan Jefferson 1-5; Jason Desmyter 0-1; Micah Lancaster 0-2), Albion College 8-19 (Zak Silas 3-3; Mike Thomas 2-8; Mike Bailey 1-3; Rick Palmer 1-1; Travis DePree 1-2; Lonny Fulse 0-2). Fouled out--Spring Arbor University-None, Albion College-None. Rebounds-Spring Arbor University 31 (Jason Desmyter 7), Albion College 31 (Travis DePree 7). Assists-Spring Arbor University 11 (Micah Lancaster 7), Albion College 20 (Travis DePree 5). Total fouls-Spring Arbor University 16, Albion College 18. A-196