Albion won both regular-season meetings by close margins.
Albion, which trailed by 20 points a minute and a half into the second half, came all the way back to get within three points two times, but ultimately it ran out of time to complete the comeback.
The Britons had a chance to tie the contest in the final seconds, but senior guard Michael Thomas narrowly missed a three-pointer. A free throw by Calvin’s Dan Aultman with four seconds remaining iced the contest.
“It was a real good look,” Thomas said. “It was a real good play designed by coach. It just didn’t go in.”
Albion (24-3) still has a shot at getting one of seven at-large NCAA tournament bids. The Britons will hear of their fate Sunday night at 10.30 p.m. Calvin (22-6) received the MIAA’s automatic bid as tournament champion.
“It has been a tremendous year, an unbelievably successful year, and we certainly deserve to get into the tournament,” said Albion’s veteran head coach Mike Turner.
Albion cut the lead to three with 1:49 on a free throw by junior forward Brandon Crawford, but then it couldn’t get the ball back. Calvin got two offensive rebounds and held the ball until a steal by Thomas with 12 seconds remaining.
Thomas threw the ball to the streaking Crawford, who had it stripped away out of bounds, setting up Thomas’ final three-point attempt.
“Whenever you give up an offensive rebound and give them another chance (to score) it’s definitely kind of deflating, especially in the final minute,” said senior forward Travis DePree.
After Calvin took the 42-22 lead by opening the half with eight consecutive points, Albion took a timeout and responded in a big way. The Britons outscored the Knights 22-6 over seven-plus minutes to pull within 48-44 with 11:09 remaining on a three-pointer by junior guard Mike Bailey.
Albion forced five turnovers during the spurt, including four in a row at one point, and the Albion crowd was put into a frenzy. The run was highlighted by a dunk by DePree over a Calvin defender that cut the deficit to 46-32 with just over 15 minutes left.
“I was there and it just had to happen,” DePree said.
Albion cut the lead to three, 52-49, with 7:48 left, but from there it went back and forth.
Albion got in the bonus with 8:40 remaining and made seven free throws down the stretch, but it also missed three.
For the game the Britons shot 13-of-19 from the free-throw line. The Knights were close to perfect at 9-of-10.
Calvin got two big baskets and two free throws from Aultman down the stretch.
Albion was led in scoring by four players in double figures. Thomas had 14, Crawford had 13 along with nine rebounds, DePree had 11 to go with nine boards and junior forward Garrett Gibbons put in 10.
The Knights were led by Aultman’s 15. Josh Meckes added 10.
“We got to within three a couple times but just couldn’t get over the hump,” Turner said. “I don’t think we ran out of steam. We ran out of time. I think the first 22 minutes of the game were unbelievably costly for our team.”
The Britons fell behind 34-22 at halftime because of poor shooting. The Knights shot 51.7 percent from the field while the Britons shot 31 percent.
Nine Calvin players scored in the half, as the Knights used good ball movement and screening to get open looks. The Knights assisted on 11 of 15 first-half baskets.
The Britons kept the game close most of the first half until a 10-0 Calvin run gave the Knights their first double-digit lead of 32-20 with 3:30 left in the half. Albion, which trailed just 22-20 with 7:27 left, went almost five minutes without a field goal and scored just one basket in the final seven minutes of the period.
Calvin outmuscled the Britons down low in the first period, outrebounding them 21-13. For the game Calvin held a 37-27 edge in rebounds.
The Knights also shot well from the outside, going 4-of-9 in the first half and 6-of-14 for the game. Albion shot 4-of-15 from three-point range.
“Calvin played real well and should get lots of credit,” Turner said. “They shot the ball real well at times. I thought tonight was a real battle.”
Gibbons led Albion in the first half with seven points. Thomas had five.
Crawford had nine of his 13 points in the second half, during which he asserted himself. He also made 5-of-6 free throws, all in the second half. DePree had nine of his points in the second half as well.
Calvin shot 45.3 percent on the night while Albion shot 38.9 percent. Calvin’s shooting performance was the first time it shot better than 40 percent this season versus Albion. In its two losses to the Britons, by three and two points, it shot 36.7 and 39.4 percent, respectively.
CALVIN COLLEGE (22-6) Dan Aultman 6-10 3-4 15; Josh Meckes 4-6 2-2 10; Joel Hoekstra 3-8 2-2 9; Ricky Shilts 3-6 0-0 9; Kyle Trewhella 2-8 0-0 5; Brad Sall 2-3 0-0 5; Kyle Snoeyink 1-3 2-2 4; Andy Draayer 2-4 0-0 4; Brian Roelofs 1-5 0-0 2; Eric DeVries 0-0 0-0 0; Josh Vriesman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-53 9-10 63. ALBION COLLEGE (24-3) Mike Thomas 5-17 4-7 14; Brandon Crawford 4-8 5-6 13; Travis DePree 5-11 1-2 11; Garrett Gibbons 4-6 0-0 10; Mike Bailey 2-4 1-2 7; Brian Champine 1-2 0-0 2; Zak Silas 0-1 2-2 2; Evan Way 0-1 0-0 0; Rick Palmer 0-0 0-0 0; Lonny Fulse 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 21-54 13-19 59. Calvin College................ 34 29 - 63 Albion College................ 22 37 - 59 3-point goals-Calvin College 6-14 (Ricky Shilts 3-4; Kyle Trewhella 1-4; Joel Hoekstra 1-2; Brad Sall 1-2; Brian Roelofs 0-1; Andy Draayer 0-1), Albion College 4-15 (Garrett Gibbons 2-4; Mike Bailey 2-3; Travis DePree 0-1; Lonny Fulse 0-1; Mike Thomas 0-6). Fouled out--Calvin College-Josh Meckes, Albion College-None. Rebounds-Calvin College 37 (Joel Hoekstra 7), Albion College 27 (Travis DePree 9; Brandon Crawford 9). Assists-Calvin College 16 (Joel Hoekstra 6), Albion College 12 (Travis DePree 4). Total fouls-Calvin College 16, Albion College 12. A-1541