By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Toledo, Ohio---Malik Albert scored 36 points for No. 2 Mott Community College in an 89-79 defeat of the No. 8 Express men's basketball team in the SHAC tonight.

Albert finished 11-for-27 from the field, 3-for-8 from 3-point range and 11-for-12 from the foul line, while adding six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

The Express couldn't seem to find a rhythm offensively except for a few stretches throughout the game. After a 4-0 run by the Express to start the game, Mott scored five straight points and never trailed again, although the Express made it interesting at different points throughout.

Late in the first half, Albert hit a 3-pointer and then added a dunk to put Mott up 33-21 with 4:07 left. Following a timeout, Bikramjit Gill (Our Ascension of the Lord/Toronto, Ontario, Canada) hit two shots, sandwiched around a Tony Boykins (Loy Norrix/Kalamazoo, Mich.) lay-up, to trim the lead to six with just over two minutes left.

A minute and a half later, Markese Allen (Crockett/Detroit, Mich.) hit a lay-up to make it a four point game before Albert hit two free throws with 4.5 seconds remaining to make it 35-29 at the break. 

Midway through the second half, Andy Bachman (North Side/Fort Wayne, Ind.) converted a four-point play to pull the Express within 58-53, but Mott went on a 12-3 run, capped by an Albert lay-up that made it 70-56 with 7:19 left.

With 5:32 left, Albert hit a 3-pointer to make it 75-62 before the Express started to trim the deficit again. John Murry (North Central/Indianapolis, Ind.), who had a nice second half for the Express, hit a lay-up with 41 seconds left that pulled the Express within 83-79. 

That's when Albert converted 6-for-6 from the foul line down the stretch, while the Express couldn't convert any opportunities offensively.

Aside from Albert, Mott got 13 from Ruston Hayward, 11 from Marcus Johnson and 10 from Myles Busby. Hayward finished 6-for-9 from the field, while Busby was 4-for-6. Nine of Johnson's points came from 3-point range, where he finished 3-for-5. Busby had a team-high eight rebounds.

Meanwhile, Gill led the Express with 19 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks, two assists and one steal. Not far behind was Murry, who had 18 points, three rebounds and one steal on 7-for-14 shooting.

It was Gill's first double-double of his Express career.

Boykins added 13 points and Shaakir Lindsey (Teaneck/Teaneck, N.J.) had 10. Lindsey finished 5-for-9 from the field, including a couple of nice floaters from straightaway in the paint in the second half.

Allen had a team-high six assists, while Lindsey added four. Allen also had a team-high in steals with four. In fact, he seemed to be the catalyst behind the late first half run for the Express.

The two teams were pretty similar in foul shooting as Mott finished 16-for-21 and the Express were 16-for-23.

The Express (6-3) will have a one week break before hosting Henry Ford Community College on Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. in the SHAC. Those teams met on Nov. 20 at Henry Ford with the Express coming out on top 82-69.

Mott improves to 5-1 with today's win.