The Britons led just 56-50 at the half. The Thunder shot 10-of-22 from three-point range in the first half and 43.6 percent from the field to stay within striking range of the Britons. But the Britons’ defense stiffened in the second period, holding the Thunder to just 33.3 percent shooting and 4-of-21 shooting from behind the arc.
Thanks to this defense and 72.4 percent shooting in the period, Albion was able to quickly grab a double-digit lead and pull away from Tri-State.
“We played really good in the second half,” said head coach Mike Turner. “I thought the defense we played against them in the second half was better than in the first half. Maybe we were a little tight in the first half. We have a heck of a target on our back.
“Tri-State is a hard team to prepare for,” Turner added. “In a game like this, when they shoot 20 percent, we win comfortably. When they shoot 30 percent, you’re in for a really hard game. When they shoot 40 percent, you’re really fortunate (to be ahead). But I thought we were really disciplined tonight.”
Albion (23-2) will play Adrian College Friday, Feb. 25 in the semifinals here at Kresge. Adrian defeated Olivet College 77-65. The other semifinal will feature Hope College and Calvin College and will start at 5:45 p.m. The Albion game will start at approximately 8:30 p.m.
Albion, ranked No. 6 in the nation according to the latest D3hoops.com poll and ranked first in the latest NCAA Division III Great Lakes regional survey, opened the second half on a 6-2 run to grab a 10-point lead, 62-52, less than two minutes in. Tri-State responded with four straight points to get back within six, but a 16-6 Albion spurt spanning 4 ½ minutes gave the Britons an 18-point cushion, 78-62, with 12:42 remaining.
Senior guard Michael Thomas sparked the run with nine points. Thomas, who scored a game-high 20 points—his first 20-point output since the end of December—was one of six players in double figures for the Britons. Sophomore guard Zak Silas scored 19 and first-year forward Brian Champine put in a career-high 18 on 7-of-8 shooting.
Champine has scored in double figures three times this season, all against Tri-State.
Senior forward Travis DePree and junior forward Brandon Crawford each added 16 points, and junior guard Mike Bailey scored 13 points off the bench.
Albion’s post players dominated inside all game, outscoring the Thunder 54-30 in the paint and outrebounding the Thunder 52-37. Of the 27 shots Albion missed, it got offensive rebounds on 15 of them.
“Those three guys (DePree, Crawford and Champine) did a lot of damage,” Turner said. “We’ve just got some dominant size and power. I was really pleased with our rebounding.”
DePree led Albion with 12 boards and Crawford added nine.
The Thunder, with their quick-shooting offense, were well within striking range midway through the second half, trailing 86-73 with 9:03 left. But then Albion’s defense turned it up a gear, holding Tri-State to just two points over four minutes to grab a commanding 96-75 advantage with 5:41 left on a powerful dunk by Crawford.
Thomas put the finishing touches on the win by knocking down back-to-back “threes” to give Albion a 104-81 lead with 3:23 remaining.
For the game Albion shot 59.7 percent compared to 37.9 percent shooting by Tri-State.
Albion, which had set a season-high with 29 assists in its 109-93 win at Tri-State Feb. 8, matched that total. The Britons turned the ball over 25 times, but they took advantage of the opportunities they had to get easy baskets, especially in the second half.
Albion outscored the run-and-gun Thunder 20-4 in fastbreak points, 12 of those coming in the second period.
Tri-State led just once, and for just 19 second when it grabbed an 8-7 lead early in the contest.
The Britons could not separate themselves at all from the Thunder until midway through the first half. Leading just 21-20 with 13:07 left in the half, Albion scored 10 consecutive points to take a 31-20 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining. Both Crawford and Champine scored four points during the run.
Champine was Albion’s big scorer in the first period, putting in 14 of his 18. At one points he scored nine straight Albion points to give it its biggest lead, 36-22, with 8:41 left.
Tri-State used an 8-0 spurt to get back to within six, 36-30, with 6:53 left. But boosted by a “three” and two free throws from Bailey, his only points in the period, the Britons regained a double-digit lead, 49-37, with just over three minutes remaining in the half.
The Thunder ended the half on an 11-5 spurt to close the gap to six at intermission. They didn’t get any closer.
Albion, which entered the game shooting 40.3 percent from three-point range, shot 8-of-13, 61.5 percent, from behind the arc. Bailey was 3-of-3 on three-pointers.
The Britons also shot 23-of-28, 82.1 percent, from the free-throw line, a vast improvement over their 71.1 percent average entering the game.
The Thunder, which ended the season with a 5-21 record, was led by four players in double figures. Brandon O’Leary and Brandon Appleton each scored 19, Zach Lear put in 15 and Adam Herkiewicz added 10.
The win was career number 475 for Turner, who is in his 31st season at Albion.
TRI-STATE UNIVERSITY (5-21) Brandon O'Leary 8-11 3-5 19; Brandon Appleton 7-11 1-1 19; Zach Lear 5-9 1-2 15; Micah Williams 4-11 1-2 10; Mo Brookins 3-8 0-0 8; Aaron Rehrer 1-3 0-0 3; David Hutter 1-3 1-2 3; John Moore 1-9 0-0 3; Greg Ripple 1-4 0-0 3; Eric Koncz 1-3 0-0 2; Andre Patrick 1-1 0-0 2; Thad Richardson 0-3 1-2 1; Justin Guy 0-1 0-0 0; John Taylor 0-0 0-0 0; Adam Harkiewicz 0-7 0-0 0; Mike Cowper 0-3 0-0 0; Britain Flowers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-87 8-14 88. ALBION COLLEGE (23-2) Mike Thomas 8-12 0-0 20; Zak Silas 6-10 7-7 19; Brian Champine 7-8 4-6 18; Travis DePree 6-7 4-4 16; Brandon Crawford 7-10 2-5 16; Mike Bailey 3-5 4-4 13; Garrett Gibbons 2-7 0-0 5; Evan Way 0-1 2-2 2; Lonny Fulse 1-5 0-0 2; Will Braaksma 0-0 0-0 0; Jamison Turnbull 0-1 0-0 0; Rick Palmer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 40-67 23-28 111. Tri-State University.......... 50 38 - 88 Albion College................ 56 55 - 111 3-point goals-Tri-State University 14-43 (Brandon Appleton 4-7; Zach Lear 4-7; Mo Brookins 2-6; Aaron Rehrer 1-3; Micah Williams 1-3; John Moore 1-4; Greg Ripple 1-3; Adam Harkiewicz 0-7; Mike Cowper 0-1; David Hutter 0-1; Brandon O'Leary 0-1), Albion College 8-13 (Mike Thomas 4-6; Mike Bailey 3-3; Garrett Gibbons 1-3; Lonny Fulse 0-1). Fouled out--Tri-State University-None, Albion College-None. Rebounds-Tri-State University 37 (David Hutter 6), Albion College 52 (Travis DePree 15). Assists-Tri-State University 14 (John Moore 3; Brandon O'Leary 3; Brandon Appleton 3), Albion College 29 (Rick Palmer 7). Total fouls-Tri-State University 25, Albion College 16. A-772