Thanks in-part to 11 offensive rebounds and 54 percent shooting from 3-point land, Albion jumped out to a 42-22 lead in the first half. But the halftime intermission seemed to cool the Briton shooters while at the same time Manchester shifted into another gear. Thanks to 30-10 run to start the second half, the Knights trimmed the deficit to five, 57-52 with 6:14 remaining.
“I think we got too complacent and they took advantage of it,” Albion assistant coach Kevin White said. “That is something we cannot afford to do as the season moves on.”
On Albion’s next possession though, Zak Silas connected on one of his four 3-pointers to increase the Albion lead to eight. Manchester would cut the deficit to six with just under 2-minutes remaining but would not threaten the Albion lead the rest of the way.
Brandon Crawford, who scored ten points in the final eight minutes of the game, led all scores with 20 and also pulled down 14 rebounds to pick up his fifth double-double in five games. Silas added 17 points while Garret Gibbons and Mike Bailey each scored 11. Bailey also added eight assists, but none bigger than his cross court pass to Crawford which led to a two-handed dunk late in the second half.
“Mike brings a different dimension to our offense,” White added. “He really pushes the ball and gives us a lot of chances in transition.”
David Mattingly led Manchester (2-4) with 17 points while Wes Gardner scored 13. Eric Berger chipped in nine and grabbed eight rebounds but no other Knight scored more than five points.
Albion will look for there fifth straight win Wednesday night when they travel to Spring Arbor for a 7:30 tip-off. All fans attending the game are asked to bring a can of non-perishable food to be used as a ticket for admittance to the contest.
MANCHESTER COLLEGE (2-4) Mattingly, David 6-19 0-0 17; Gardner, Wes 4-8 2-2 13; Berger, Eric 3-11 3-4 9; Kuhn, Kevin 1-6 2-2 5; Plumlee, Kyle 2-6 0-1 5; Read, Jim 2-2 0-0 4; Hammond, Derek 1-4 0-0 3; Kornexl, Daniel 1-2 0-0 2; Koziel, Jake 1-4 0-0 2; Grabowski, Jeff 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-63 7-9 60. ALBION COLLEGE (4-1) Brandon Crawford 8-14 4-6 20; Zak Silas 5-10 3-4 17; Garrett Gibbons 4-9 0-0 11; Mike Bailey 3-8 3-4 11; Andrew Ruddick 2-5 2-2 6; Lonny Fulse 1-5 1-2 3; Rick Palmer 1-2 0-0 2; Evan Way 1-2 0-0 2; Drew Yancey 0-0 0-0 0; Jim Cash 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-55 13-18 72. Manchester College............ 22 38 - 60 Albion College................ 42 30 - 72 3-point goals-Manchester College 11-29 (Mattingly, David 5-11; Gardner, Wes 3-6; Plumlee, Kyle 1-4; Kuhn, Kevin 1-3; Hammond, Derek 1-3; Koziel, Jake 0-2), Albion College 9-20 (Zak Silas 4-6; Garrett Gibbons 3-7; Mike Bailey 2-6; Rick Palmer 0-1). Fouled out--Manchester College-Mattingly, David, Albion College-None. Rebounds-Manchester College 32 (Berger, Eric 8), Albion College 43 (Brandon Crawford 14). Assists-Manchester College 16 (Gardner, Wes 4), Albion College 17 (Mike Bailey 8). Total fouls-Manchester College 18, Albion College 14. A-337