DePree was going up to try to tip in a miss by senior guard Michael Thomas when he was fouled by Wooster’s Tom Port. He missed the second free throw intentionally and a last heave by Wooster hit the rafters of Kresge Gymnasium.
“We’d been preaching offensive rebounds all night and I just went after the glass,” DePree said.
DePree didn’t hesitate in hitting the shot and didn’t seem as nervous as the situation might have proscribed.
“I was more excited than anything,” he said. “I really just thought it was another free throw.”
DePree’s free throw came after Port had hit a tough three-pointer with a hand in his face to tie the game at 58-58.
“It was a really tough game to lose for either team,” said head coach Mike Turner. “It was just a heckuva game.”
DePree led Albion with 15 points and seven rebounds. Junior forward Brandon Crawford added 12 points and seven boards and Thomas put in 10.
Wooster was led by Port and Kyle Witucky, who both scored 13 points. Andy Van Horn added 10.
Both of Albion’s seniors, DePree and Thomas, made big baskets down the stretch. Wooster took its first lead of the game, 53-52, with three minutes left and extended it to three a moment later on a steal and a fastbreak layup.
Albion called a timeout with 2:22 left to regroup.
“After they went up three we got in the huddle and everybody kept their calm,” Thomas said. “We dealt with the adversity. There wasn’t really any pressure.”
Albion came out of the timeout with three straight baskets. First sophomore guard Zak Silas, who had just been inserted into the game, hit a mid-range jumper off a pass from Thomas to cut the deficit to one. DePree followed with a layup at the 1:16 mark off another good pass from Thomas, and then it was Thomas’ turn.
After DePree blocked a Wooster shot, Albion ran the shot clock all the way down and Thomas hit a tough running layup with a defender all over him with 27 seconds remaining.
“I just took it myself,” said Thomas who has always thrived in late-game situations. “I felt really good we got the win because it has been one of my goals since I got here.”
The Britons jumped on the Scots and grabbed a 29-16 halftime lead.
However, the Scots came out firing in the second half. After shooting just 30 percent in the first half, the Scots shot 62.5 percent in the second period.
With Albion leading 36-23 more than three minutes into the half, the Scots went on an 11-1 run over five minutes to cut their deficit to 37-34 with 11:51 remaining. The Scots tied the game at 44 at the 8:20 mark on one of their seven made three-pointers of the half.
The score would be tied two more times before the Scots took their first lead of the game.
Both Crawford and DePree had huge second halves for the Britons, who shot 54.5 percent in the half and 45.3 percent in the game. Crawford had 10 of his 12 in the half and DePree put in 11 of his 15.
The Britons continually went down low to Crawford, who started getting double-teamed late in the game. Albion outscored Wooster 34-22 in points in the paint and 10-6 in second-chance points.
“There’s a reason he’s the MVP of our league,” Turner said of DePree. “He picked a really good time to have a great game. He demonstrated to people who don’t know him how good he is.”
Crawford said, “Basically I knew I had to step up to win.”
The Britons, who have had a bad habit recently of falling behind early in games, came out strong in the first half behind a stinging defense.
Albion held Wooster to just six field goals and forced it into 12 turnovers, which translated into 16 points, in the field half.
“I thought we focused on coming out and getting them from the get-go, and we really did,” DePree said.
“We got the kind of start that other teams have been having against us,” Turner added.
Leading 15-12 midway through the half, the Britons went on a 12-1 run spanning six minutes to grab a 27-13 lead with 3:12 left in the half on a Thomas layup. Junior forward Garrett Gibbons led Albion with five points during the spurt, including one of his two three-pointers.
Albion’s defense was the key to the run. The Britons held the Scots without a field goal and just one point from the 9:59 mark until the 2:57 mark of the half. In the last 9:14 of the period the Scots shot 1-of-10 from the field and turned the ball over seven times while scoring just four points.
Albion shot 38.7 percent from the field in the half and hit just 2-of-11 three-pointers, the same as Wooster.
“Neither team shot well, which is a tribute to both teams’ defenses,” Turner said.
Of Wooster’s second-half shooting, Turner said, “They had really good execution and they made a lot of shots.”
DePree set an all-time Albion record for career rebounds when he grabbed his 794th board during the first half. He currently sits on 798 career rebounds.
Wooster finished the season 27-3 while Albion improved to 25-3.
The Britons will face John Carroll University (Ohio) in a sectional semifinal of the tournament. The site is to be determined. The Blue Streaks defeated Wittenberg University 75-68 in double overtime.
THE COLLEGE OF WOOSTER (27-3) Kyle Witucky 5-9 0-0 13; Tom Port 3-10 5-7 13; Andy Van Horn 4-6 0-0 10; Matt Schlingman 3-4 2-4 8; Devin Fulk 2-4 0-0 6; Blake Mealer 2-4 0-0 4; Tim Vandervaart 1-1 0-0 2; James Cooper 1-6 0-1 2; Justin Bradley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-44 7-12 58. ALBION COLLEGE (25-3) Travis DePree 7-10 1-3 15; Brandon Crawford 5-11 2-4 12; Mike Thomas 5-12 0-1 10; Garrett Gibbons 3-8 0-0 8; Lonny Fulse 1-6 4-6 7; Zak Silas 2-3 1-3 5; Evan Way 1-1 0-0 2; Brian Champine 0-0 0-0 0; Rick Palmer 0-0 0-0 0; Mike Bailey 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-53 8-17 59. The College of Wooster........ 16 42 - 58 Albion College................ 29 30 - 59 3-point goals-The College of Wooster 9-22 (Kyle Witucky 3-7; Tom Port 2-6; Andy Van Horn 2-3; Devin Fulk 2-3; James Cooper 0-1; Blake Mealer 0-2), Albion College 3-14 (Garrett Gibbons 2-4; Lonny Fulse 1-3; Mike Thomas 0-4; Zak Silas 0-1; Travis DePree 0-2). Fouled out--The College of Wooster-None, Albion College-None. Rebounds-The College of Wooster 31 (Tom Port 10), Albion College 28 (Brandon Crawford 7; Travis DePree 7). Assists-The College of Wooster 14 (Kyle Witucky 6), Albion College 13 (Travis DePree 6). Total fouls-The College of Wooster 16, Albion College 13. A-1152