ALBION, Mich. – Travell Oakes scored off a free throw miss with 20 seconds left and the defense survived a couple of missed shots as Albion College pulled out a 75-74 overtime victory over Spring Arbor University in a non-league men's basketball game.
Albion trailed 74-70 with a minute and a half left in overtime. Corey Wheeler knocked down a pair of free throws to pull the Britons within two and he made the first of two from the line with 20 seconds left to set up Oakes' game-winning basket.
Caleb Hogans missed a layup and a three-point shot on Spring Arbor's final possession.
Albion's backcourt was challenged to pick up the scoring to support Oakes and Jordan Herron, and Wheeler responded by producing 16 of his career-high 35 points in the first half. Wheeler scored 12 in a row at one point in helping the Britons forge a 19-11 lead midway through the first half. Albion led by as many as 12 before settling for a 39-31 lead at halftime.
"We made shots early to get a lead, but I knew they weren't going away," Albion Head Coach Jody May said after his team improved to 4-2.
Albion shot 52 percent from the field in the first half, but scoring became difficult in the second half as the Britons shot 30 percent.
Anthony Qasawa provided a pair of baskets as Spring Arbor started the second half on a 9-2 run to whittle the deficit to a point with 15:41 left in regulation.
"There were certain points when we faced adversity, and our guys hung in there," May said. "We could have put our heads down. I'm proud of our guys for that."
Albion recovered, and boosted by consecutive three-point baskets by reserve guards Lucas Marble and Dakota Kazen, it pushed the lead to seven, 53-46, midway through the second half.
Qasawa hit from three-point range and Hogans tacked on a layup as Spring Arbor forged a tie at 55 with 6 ½ minutes left in regulation and neither team led by more than three for the remainder of regulation.
Albion had the last possession of regulation, but Herron's second-chance shot off Wheeler's three-point miss popped out of the cylinder.
Wheeler hit 13-of-21 shots from the field in matching Toby Tucker, Troy Wright and Virgil Hall for 11th on Albion's single-game scoring list.
Oakes grabbed 10 offensive rebounds as part of his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Herron chipped in with 11 points and 13 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Herron forged a tie with Dwayne Johnson (1982-86) for seventh-place on Albion's all-time rebounding list.
Qasawa was shutout for the final 13 minutes, but he finished with 21 points for Spring Arbor. Hogans added 15 points off the bench, while starters Peter Barry and Greg Hamilton contributed 12 points apiece. Barry completed his double-double with 10 rebounds.
Albion will begin a two-game swing in the Chicago area with a Monday game at North Park University.
