Playing its toughest road stretch of the season with back-to-back games against Calvin College and Hope College, the Briton men responded—throttling Hope College 68-44 in front of a capacity crowd at the Holland Civic Center.
The victory, coupled with last Saturday's win over Calvin, catapults the Britons, ranked fifth in the latest D3hoops.com weekly Top 25 poll, into a tie for first place with Alma College, as each team has Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association records of 3-0.
Holland native Travis DePree enjoyed his last regular-season game at the Holland Civic Center, as he poured in a game-high 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. He was 8-of-11 from the floor, including 1-of-1 from behind the arc, and 5-of-7 from the free-throw line.
The Britons, under the tutelage of veteran coach Mike Turner, improve to 13-0 on the season and match the Albion basketball teams of 1928-29 and 1950-51 for the most consecutive victories. Albion's 13-0 record is also the fastest start in school history.
"I'm really happy for Travis that he was able to come out of the game on his own to the appreciation of his hometown," Turner said. "A mark of Travis, Michael Thomas, and our whole team is that we never talk about rankings or streaks—we just look to the next game."
Under the senior leadership of DePree and Thomas, who scored 17 points, the Britons held the Dutchmen to just 44 points—well below the 84 points-per-game that they were averaging coming into the contest. It was also the lowest offensive output of the season for Hope.
"Our defense played really well," Turner said. "Hope had a bad shooting night, but I also think it's a tribute to our defense."
Albion held the Flying Dutchmen (5-9 overall, 1-2 MIAA) to just 32.7 percent from the floor, including 2-of-17 from behind the arc. It also marked the third consecutive trip to the Civic Center that the Britons have come away victorious.
The first half proved to be a back and forth affair as the lead changed eight times before Albion was able to compile a 15-6 run over the last 6:41 of the first half to take a 33-25 lead into the locker room.
The Britons opened the second half with a 12-6 run and never looked back as they built leads of 19 points on numerous occasions before pulling away for a 68-44 win. The Britons outscored the Flying Dutchmen 35-19 in the second half.
Albion returns to action on Saturday as it returns home for a 3 o'clock tilt with Tri-State University.
Reported by Ross Weener
Albion College sports information assistant