ALMA, Mich. – Caden Ebeling tipped in the winning basket as time expired as Albion College seized the early lead in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association men's basketball race with a 75-73 victory at Alma College.
ArShawn Parker started a drive to the basket with 4.9 seconds left. His shot hit high off the glass and caromed to Ebeling who got both hands on the rebound and pushed his shot off the middle of the backboard.
Ebeling produced his third game of the season with at least 21 points, finishing with 25. He was 7-of-14 from the field and 11-of-13 from the line. His stat line included eight rebounds and an assist.
Ebeling received support from frontcourt mate Quinton Armstrong, who chipped in with 16 points, five rebounds and a block in 13 minutes off the bench.
Parker was Albion's other double figure scorer, finishing with 13.
Alma scored the first eight points of the game, but that was the largest lead of the night for either team.
Armstrong was an early substitution into the Briton lineup and he proved to be a stabilizing force. He scored Albion's first 10 points to cut the Alma lead to 14-10 with 13 ½ minutes left in the first half.
Albion surged to a 28-27 lead on Parker's basket with four minutes left in the first half.
Nathaniel Collins' 3-point basket pushed Albion to a 40-36 halftime lead.
Albion led by as many as seven in the second half, but Alma rallied to forge a tie at 69 on Kyle Woodruff's basket with three minutes left.
Woodruff and Cole Kleiver scored 15 points apiece to lead Alma (3-11 overall, 2-1 MIAA).
Albion, winners of three in a row to move its record to 10-4 overall and 3-0 against MIAA rivals, will play its next three at home. The homestand starts with a 3 o'clock Saturday game against Kalamazoo College.
Of Note
- Albion is 4-0 in games decided by three points or less this season. The Britons secured three-point victories over Earlham College and Capital University in November and Olivet College to start MIAA action in January.
- Alma scored five more baskets than Albion, however, the Britons missed just three free throws (19-of-22) to make up the difference.
- Albion was charged with six turnovers, the first time it has had less than 10 turnovers in a game this season. It's the fewest turnovers Albion has had in a game since Jan. 21, 2017, when it committed five in an 89-87 home loss to Alma.
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