Albion (22-2 overall, 12-2 MIAA, and ranked eighth in the D3hoops.com Top 25) earned its second league title in three years, but the Britons shared the 2003 crown with Hope College.
The Britons’ post players were in no mood to share the league title as senior forward Travis DePree dropped in 9 of 10 shots from the field to lead all players with 20 points. DePree also grabbed seven rebounds, dished out five assists, and swatted two shots. Junior center Brandon Crawford made 8 of 9 shots from the field to finish with 18 points. Crawford also pulled down six boards.
From the perimeter, senior guard Mike Thomas and sophomore guard Zak Silas scored 13 points apiece.
“I’m so happy we were able to close it out over the last four games,” Albion head coach Mike Turner said. “Starting with the Hope loss, we knew we were the one team to control our destiny. No team rolled over for us.
“For our seniors (Will Braaksma, DePree, Thomas, and Jamison Turnbull) to win two championships and finish second one year says a lot about them and what they have contributed to our program,” Turner continued. “Their character and determination has been a great thing to witness.”
Early on, it looked as if Kalamazoo’s Ryan Konwinski had come to crash the party. The senior guard scored eight points and dished out the assist on the game’s first basket by Tim Herman as the Hornets bolted out to the early double-digit advantage. Kalamazoo continued to hold a double digit lead when Tony Wichmann knocked down a jumper to make the score 15-5 at the 15:22 mark of the first half.
Albion took over from there, outscoring Kalamazoo 37-22 over the final 15 minutes to take a 42-37 lead to the locker room at the intermission. Silas provided a boost off the bench, scoring all of his points during the first half rally on 3 of 4 shooting from the field and 5 of 5 shooting at the free throw line. Albion took the lead for good when Thomas knocked down a three-point field goal to make the score 34-32 with four minutes on the clock.
Albion put the game out of reach with a 28-6 run over the first 10 minutes of the second half. Most of the offensive production came from the frontcourt as Crawford and DePree combined for 17 points. When sophomore forward Evan Way made a layup with 10 minutes left in the game, the Albion lead had ballooned to 70-43.
“That was a really good 28-minute span of basketball,” Turner said. “Our post players were very effective today, but one thing we need to improve is our rebounding.”
Konwinski was the only Kalamazoo player to score in double figures, finishing with 11 points. The Hornets finish the regular season 7-17 overall, 3-11 in the MIAA.
Albion begins its road through the MIAA Tournament Wednesday, Feb. 23, with a home game against Tri-State University of Angola, Ind. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
KALAMAZOO COLLEGE (7-17; 3-11 MIAA) Ryan Konwinski 5-10 0-0 11; Tony Wichmann 3-5 1-1 8; Thomas Greer 2-3 1-2 7; Brad Brinkman 1-3 5-5 7; Tim Herman 2-5 2-4 7; Matt Wagner 1-1 4-4 6; Damon Krohn 2-7 0-1 5; Mat Kellogg 2-5 0-4 4; Eli Savit 2-4 0-0 4; Pat Clancy 1-2 0-0 3; Roger Garfield 1-2 0-2 2; Kyle Konwinski 1-6 0-0 2; Adam Bezemek 0-1 0-0 0; Phillip Weaver 0-1 0-0 0; Robert Boyle 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-55 13-23 66. ALBION COLLEGE (22-2; 12-2 MIAA) Travis DePree 9-10 2-2 20; Brandon Crawford 8-9 2-5 18; Mike Thomas 4-5 3-4 13; Zak Silas 3-6 5-5 13; Lonny Fulse 3-9 1-4 8; Rick Palmer 1-3 0-0 3; Jamison Turnbull 1-2 0-0 2; Evan Way 1-1 0-0 2; Brian Champine 0-1 0-0 0; Mike Bailey 0-6 0-0 0; Will Braaksma 0-0 0-0 0; Jim Cash 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-53 13-20 79. Kalamazoo College............. 37 29 - 66 Albion College................ 42 37 - 79 3-point goals-Kalamazoo College 7-18 (Thomas Greer 2-3; Ryan Konwinski 1-2; Pat Clancy 1-2; Tim Herman 1-2; Tony Wichmann 1-1; Damon Krohn 1-5; Kyle Konwinski 0-3), Albion College 6-15 (Mike Thomas 2-3; Zak Silas 2-3; Lonny Fulse 1-1; Rick Palmer 1-3; Mike Bailey 0-3; Jim Cash 0-1; Travis DePree 0-1). Fouled out--Kalamazoo College-None, Albion College-Evan Way. Rebounds-Kalamazoo College 27 (Brad Brinkman 5), Albion College 33 (Travis DePree 7). Assists-Kalamazoo College 13 (Kyle Konwinski 4), Albion College 24 (Lonny Fulse 7). Total fouls-Kalamazoo College 17, Albion College 19. A-877