With Albion in front 79-78 and less than a minute remaining, senior guard Marcus Gill, who isn't known for his outside shooting, pulled up and hit a huge shot to push the margin to three, 81-78. After a quick Tri-State miss, Albion came down and used precision passing to get Gill an easy layup with 27 seconds remaining.
Although the Thunder made a couple of threes in the last 20 seconds, Albion went 4 of 4 from the free-throw line to ice the win.
"I thought it was a really big shot," said Albion coach Mike Turner of Gill's shot. "Marcus displayed really good leadership."
Sophomore forward Brandon Crawford led four Britons in double figures, scoring 13 points. Gill and sophomore forward Garrett Gibbons each contributed 11 points on 5 of 6 shooting. Junior forward Travis DePree recorded a double-double, putting in 10 points and leading Albion with 12 rebounds.
The biggest lead by either team was a 10-point advantage grabbed by the Britons at 67-57 with 8:46 remaining. But the Thunder came back, using a 5-0 spurt to cut a 79-73 deficit to one before Gill's shot.
Although the game was still a high scoring affair, it wasn't played at quite the frenetic pace Tri-State is used to. The Thunder's 84 points was 12 below their season average. Albion was effective when it made precise passes in the half-court offense.
The Britons were hurt in the first half by missed layups and 13 turnovers, but only trailed by one, 37-36, at the half because the Thunder struggled from the field, shooting just 12 of 34 (35.3 percent) overall, and 8 of 26 (30.8 percent) from three-point range. For the game Tri-State lunched 49 threes, hitting 17.
Albion shot 55.6 percent in the second half, and 51.5 percent for the game. The Britons turned the ball over just four times in the second half.
The Britons outrebounded the Thunder 43-33. "I was pleased with the outcome. I was pleased with our effort," said Turner, adding that he knew the game would be tougher than Albion's win earlier in the season at Tri-State.
In a first half marred by 22 turnovers and poor shooting, the Britons established a 24-16 lead with 8:06 left, only to see it disintegrate as Tri State ended the half on a 20-11 run thanks in part to seven Albion giveways.
Heading towards the MIAA tournament, Turner believes pulling out tough games like Wednesday's will be beneficial. "I think it's certainly gonna help us," said Turner.
The Thunder were led by 17 points from Aaron Rehrer and 16 from Micah Williams.
The win improved Albion's record to 16-6. The Thunder fell to 10-12.
TRI-STATE UNIVERSITY (10-12) Aaron Rehrer 6-10 0-0 17; Micah Williams 6-12 3-4 16; Luke Amstutz 4-11 2-3 12; Brandon O'Leary 4-8 0-0 10; Brandon Appleton 1-5 4-4 7; Britain Flowers 2-8 0-0 6; Zach Elrod 2-3 0-0 6; Dwight Brace 1-2 0-0 3; John Taylor 1-4 0-0 3; Brian Porter 0-1 2-2 2; Justin Guy 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 28-66 11-13 84. ALBION COLLEGE (16-6) Brandon Crawford 5-9 3-6 13; Marcus Gill 5-6 1-1 11; Garrett Gibbons 5-6 0-0 11; Travis DePree 3-5 4-4 10; Joe Finland 4-6 1-4 9; Rick Palmer 3-4 0-0 8; Mike Bailey 2-5 2-2 7; Michael Thomas 2-12 3-4 7; Sean Davis 2-8 0-1 4; Jeff Burgess 2-4 0-0 4; Zachary Silas 1-1 0-1 3. Totals 34-66 14-23 87. Tri-State University.......... 36 48 - 84 Albion College................ 35 52 - 87 3-point goals-Tri-State University 17-49 (Aaron Rehrer 5-9; Britain Flowers 2-8; Zach Elrod 2-3; Brandon O'Leary 2-3; Luke Amstutz 2-9; Brandon Appleton 1-4; John Taylor 1-4; Micah Williams 1-6; Dwight Brace 1-2; Justin Guy 0-1), Albion College 5-16 (Rick Palmer 2-3; Garrett Gibbons 1-2; Zachary Silas 1-1; Mike Bailey 1-3; Michael Thomas 0-3; Sean Davis 0-3; Marcus Gill 0-1). Fouled out--Tri-State University-None, Albion College-None. Rebounds-Tri-State University 33 (Brandon O'Leary 12), Albion College 43 (Travis DePree 12). Assists-Tri-State University 18 (Brandon Appleton 11), Albion College 26 (Marcus Gill 7). Total fouls-Tri-State University 21, Albion College 19. A-563