Albion College Sports Information Student Assistant
ALBION, Mich. - Behind a strong overall performance from everybody, the Albion College men's basketball team held off Ohio Wesleyan University, 76-61, to win the Greater Albion Chamber of Commerce Tip-off Classic Saturday, Nov. 20, at Kresge Gymnasium.
Senior forward Travis DePree won the tournament's most valuable player award. He dumped in a team-high 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists. For the weekend he finished with 27 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists.
Despite foul trouble, junior forward Brandon Crawford recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Senior guard Michael Thomas added 13 points and five assists. Crawford and Thomas were all-tournament selections.
"I'm really proud of our guys," said head coach Mike Turner. "They played really hard. I think our guys did a lot of good things. This (Ohio Wesleyan) is a good team. We're very happy with it (the win)."
Unlike their first game against Marygrove College, during which the Britons committed 28 turnovers, Albion took great care of the ball, just turning it over 11 times.
On offense the Britons used precision passing—they assisted on 23 of 28 made field goals—to shoot above 50 percent from the field for the second consecutive night, with a 53. 8 percent mark.
The game was close the entire first half, as it was tied five times and the lead changed hands twice. However, a 5-0 Albion run to end the half gave it a 34-27 halftime advantage and the momentum it would need to eventually put away the game in the second half. Sophomore guard Zak Silas hit a three-point field goal as the first half buzzer sounded.
The Battling Bishops stayed within striking much of the second half, getting as close as three points, 47-44, with 13:26 left, but Albion made the big shots when it needed to and ended the game on a 10-2 run over the last 5:32 after the Battling Bishops cut the lead to 66-59. Both DePree and Crawford contributed four points during the run.
Junior point guard Michael Bailey was 3-of-3 from behind the three-point arc for nine points, and all three shots were critical. They all came within a four-minute span midway through the second half during which Ohio Wesleyan was desperately fighting to cut Albion's advantage.
"It was real big," Turner said of Bailey's contributions. "We've got a lot of guys that can do that."
Albion played strong down low for the game, outrebounding the Battling Bishops 34-27 and outscoring them in the paint 36-24. Senior center Will Braaksma was a big factor for the Britons, putting in a strong eight points and grabbing three boards. All of Braaksma's points came in the second half.
Behind Bailey and Braaksma's contributions, the Britons outscored the Battling Bishops 22-10 in bench points.
Ohio Wesleyan was led by Ben Chojnacki's 19 points and Ross Rybarczyk's 12.
With the win the Britons improved to 2-0 on the young season. The Battling Bishops fell to 1-1.
The Britons will continue non-conference play Saturday, Nov. 27 when they face Washington University (Mo.) in the first round of the Mike Rokicki Community Versus Cancer Challenge held at DePauw University (Ind.).
Newspaper Box Score Ohio Wesleyan vs Albion 11.20.04 4:00 p.m. at Kresge Gymnasium; Albion, Mich. At Kresge Gymnasium; Albion, Mich. ALBION 76, OHIO WESLEYAN 61 OHIO WESLEYAN (1-1) Ben Chojnacki 8-13 2-4 19; Ross Rybarczyk 4-7 3-3 12; Brian King 3-8 0-0 7; Ted Uritus 3-12 1-1 7; Tyler Reed 2-5 0-0 6; Dustin Rudegeair 2-7 0-0 5; Andy Warnock 2-6 0-1 5. Totals 24-58 6-9 61. ALBION (2-0) Travis DePree 5-9 6-6 16; Mike Thomas 5-10 2-2 13; Brandon Crawford 6-10 0-0 12; Mike Bailey 3-3 0-0 9; Will Braaksma 2-4 4-7 8; Lonny Fulse 3-6 0-0 7; Garrett Gibbons 2-4 0-0 6; Zak Silas 2-6 0-0 5; Rick Palmer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-52 12-15 76. Ohio Wesleyan................. 27 34 - 61 Albion........................ 34 42 - 76 3-point goals-Ohio Wesleyan 7-26 (Tyler Reed 2-4; Dustin Rudegeair 1-3; Ben Chojnacki 1-4; Ross Rybarczyk 1-3; Brian King 1-5; Andy Warnock 1-3; Ted Uritus 0-4), Albion 8-18 (Mike Bailey 3-3; Garrett Gibbons 2-3; Lonny Fulse 1-4; Zak Silas 1-3; Mike Thomas 1-5). Fouled out--Ohio Wesleyan-None, Albion-None. Rebounds-Ohio Wesleyan 27 (Andy Warnock 9), Albion 34 (Brandon Crawford 10). Assists-Ohio Wesleyan 14 (Ross Rybarczyk 3; Tyler Reed 3; Andy Warnock 3), Albion 23 (Mike Thomas 5; Travis DePree 5). Total fouls-Ohio Wesleyan 16, Albion 12. A-252