Box Score Albion College's hot shooting Saturday dealt Wabash its third loss to start the season, 77-55. The Britons connected on 60.4 percent of their shots, including 63.6 percent from three. The Little Giants (0-3) could only muster up 37 percent shooting and 26.7 percent beyond the arc.
 
"They were able to hit some tough shots, but we gave them some easy ones by not getting a hand over the ball and challenging the shot," Coach Antoine Carpenter said.
 
Eric Evans led Albion (4-0) despite not starting. The sophomore guard scored 19 points and connected on three of his five three-point attempts in 18 minutes of playing time. Senior guard Lawrence Ridgell added 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
 
"They had a lot of a guards and with the new rules, which play to the advantage of smaller teams like them," forward Daniel Purvlicis said. "We did do a good job at some points of trying to force them out. The times they hurt us was when they got into the middle and kicked out. They were knocking shots down when we had people crashing in when they got to the middle."
 
New rules imposed by the NCAA this season disallow hand checking by the defender. Defenses will have to adjust, but it will take time.
 
"It's tough for the guards keeping them out of the middle without hands," Purvlicis said. "The offense knows where it's going to go but the defense just has to react. Other than force them to the baseline, we can't do much with it."
 
Purvlicis helped out with a block, steal, and 5 rebounds. On the other end, he scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
 
Wabash's defense has surrendered 83 points-per-game through three contests this season. The Little Giants have held early leads in each loss, but haven't put together a full game.
 
"We've played hard for the first two minutes, and then we get in a bit of a lull," Purvlicis said. "It allows the other team to get its feet under it and start playing better. We just have to come out and put the pressure on them and finish shots."
 
Wabash held the lead Saturday for the first eight minutes. However, Albion took a 15-14 lead with 10:58 remaining in the first half and never looked back. The Britons closed out the final 11 minutes by outscoring the Little Giants 24-12, and the entered the locker room up, 38-26.
 
Albion pushed its lead to 17 early in the second half before Houston Hodges helped cut the deficit back to single digits with nifty passing. He found Ross Sponsler for an open jumper, then a few possessions later, Hodges made a wrap-around pass to Purvlicis in the lane for the dunk, 46-34.
 
Hodges continued the assist spree by finding Andy Walsh on the wing for an open three pointer. Walsh and Hodges saw their first action of the season after missing the first three games due to football.  
 
Hodges and Kyle Aiton then added layups and the Little Giants trailed 48-41.
 
Wabash would not come any closer. Evens hit three pointers on consecutive Albion possessions as the Britons pulled away for the final 11 minutes. Missed opportunities kept Wabash from mounting enough of a comeback.
 
"We shot ourselves in the foot by not hitting free throws when we had some opportunities to make some runs," Carpenter said. "Then we missed some layups so that affected us throughout the whole game."
 
Hodges finished the game with 3 assists in 10 minutes of action. Aiton led Wabash with 12 points.
 
The Little Giants travel Tuesday to Illinois Wesleyan for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff from Bloomington, Illinois. The Titans are ranked second in the nation in the D3hoops.com poll.