Concordia tied the score for the seventh time of the evening when Ryan Thomas made a layup to knot the score at 56 with 6:49 remaining.
Albion scored on its next four possessions to surge to an 11-point lead, 67-56, wit 4:23 left. Senior forward Garrett Gibbons knocked down two shots from behind the arc for six of his 14 points on the night, senior guard Mike Bailey scored one of his six shots from long distance, and senior guard Evan Way made a jumper. Bailey, who was 6-for-8 from three-point range, finished with a career-high 24 points. Way posted his second double-double of the season with 11 points and a season-high 14 rebounds.
“We can’t play 6 ˝ minutes and win very often,” Albion head coach Mike Turner said. “We didn’t play as well as we can play for a long time. We don’t give game balls, but if we did we’d give them to the two guys from Lansing (Bailey and Way).”
Hampered by 32 percent shooting from the field (10-of-31), Albion trailed by as many as seven in the first half. Bryan Verdun’s three-point goal put the Cardinals in front 29-22 with 4:16 to play in the first half. Concordia held a 33-30 lead at halftime.
Albion shot the ball better in the second half, connecting on 52 percent of its shots from the field (16-of-31). The Britons dialed up seven times from long distance over the final 20 minutes.
The Britons finished with balanced scoring as all five starters scored in double figures. Junior guard Zak Silas and senior center Brandon Crawford contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Nate Ashcraft scored 19 points to lead Concordia (6-7 overall).
Albion, 8-1 overall, will square off against 16th-ranked Elmhurst (Ill.) College, a 76-49 victor over the University of Wisconsin-Superior, in the title game of the Holiday Inn Tournament Thursday night. Albion sports information assistant Mike Moore will call the action for our internet broadcast at http://media.albvion.edu/sports with programming beginning at approximately 8 o’clock.
CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY (6-7) Nate Ashcraft 5-8 6-7 19; Bryan Verdun 6-12 0-1 16; Jared Adamson 5-10 0-0 10; Cihan Mumcuogullari 4-8 1-2 9; Ryan Thomas 2-6 0-0 5; Kyle Thomas 0-1 2-2 2; Anthony Bates 1-3 0-2 2; Matt Miller 1-2 0-0 2; Casey Livingston 0-7 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 9-14 65. ALBION COLLEGE (8-1) Mike Bailey 6-10 6-8 24; Garrett Gibbons 5-12 0-0 14; Zak Silas 4-11 1-4 12; Evan Way 5-8 1-2 11; Brandon Crawford 3-11 4-8 10; Drew Yancey 2-5 2-4 6; Rick Palmer 1-3 0-0 2; Jim Cash 0-2 0-0 0; Andrew Ruddick 0-0 0-0 0; Lonny Fulse 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-62 14-26 79. Concordia University.......... 33 32 - 65 Albion College................ 30 49 - 79 3-point goals-Concordia University 8-21 (Bryan Verdun 4-8; Nate Ashcraft 3-4; Ryan Thomas 1-3; Kyle Thomas 0-1; Anthony Bates 0-1; Casey Livingston 0-4), Albion College 13-30 (Mike Bailey 6-8; Garrett Gibbons 4-9; Zak Silas 3-10; Drew Yancey 0-1; Rick Palmer 0-1; Jim Cash 0-1). Fouled out--Concordia University-None, Albion College-None. Rebounds-Concordia University 37 (Jared Adamson 8), Albion College 41 (Evan Way 14). Assists-Concordia University 21 (Casey Livingston 9), Albion College 23 (Mike Bailey 6). Total fouls-Concordia University 20, Albion College 13. A-201 Holiday Inn Tournament (game #2) Albion is ranked #6 in the Top 25 poll conducted by the D3hoops.com website Mike Bailey (Albion): career scoring high Albion to meet Elmhurst (Ill.) for tournament championsip Thu. at 8 p.m.