Men’s basketball team loses to Albion, 87-85, in MIAA Tournament semifinals

ANGOLA, Ind. – The Olivet College men's basketball team fell to Albion College, 87-85 in the 2019 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament semifinals, hosted by Trine (Ind.) University and played at the MTI Center in Angola, Indiana. With the win, the Britons advance to play Trine in the MIAA Tournament championship game tomorrow.

Final Score: Albion 87, Olivet 85
Location: MTI Center; Angola, Ind.
Records: Olivet 13-14 overall, Albion 18-8 overall

• The Britons built a 15-point lead, 71-56, at the 9:11 mark of the second half. With 36 seconds left, the Comets were still down by four points, 82-78. Junior Trevor Manuel drained a three-pointer to make the score 82-81. Albion made two free throws to push its lead back to three points, 84-81. Junior Toriano Jackson grabbed an offensive rebound, and was fouled. He made both free throws with just under nine seconds left.
• The Britons turned the ball over on the inbounds play. Manuel found senior Chase Brocker under the basket for a layup to put Olivet ahead 85-84 with 2.8 ticks showing on the clock. After an Albion timeout, Jamezell Davis dribbled up the court and shot a contested three-point attempt. The ball hit off the backboard and onto the front of the rim before going through the basket for the buzzer-beating three-pointer.
• The Britons scored the first five points. The Comets answered with an 8-0 run, capped by dunk by Manuel. Albion answered with its own 8-0 run to take another five-point lead, 13-8. Olivet fought back to tie the game three times. After the last time at 19-19, the Britons netted five straight points for another five-point cushion, 24-19, at the 7:18 mark.
• The Comets countered with a 5-0 scoring spurt to level the score one more time, 24-24. Albion answered with 10 straight points to take the first double digit lead for either team. The Comets closed the gap to five points on three occasions before a Davis layup at the buzzer made the score 41-34 at halftime.
• Early in the second half, Olivet cut its deficit down to six points, 50-44. The teams traded baskets for the next several minutes until the Britons used two free throws and a three-pointer to extend their lead to the aforementioned 15-point lead.

• All five Olivet starters scored in double figures.
• Senior Tracy Edmond led the way with 20 points to go along with nine assists.
• Manuel had a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. He also tallied five assists, three blocks and four steals.
• Senior Colin Jones contributed 14 points and six rebounds.
• Senior Dee Roberts chipped-in 12 points.
• Senior John McAdoo added 10 points.

• Davis led all scorers with 31 points.
• Quinton Armstrong came off the bench with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
• Arshawn Parker had 10 points.