Bryan Wickliffe

In a game in which neither team led by more than six points, Albion College utilized a late 3-pointer from Chris Hutton and a defensive stop to pull out a 57-55 victory over The College of Wooster in the teams' 2009-10 season opener Sunday afternoon at Kresge Gymnasium in Albion, Mich.

Hutton's third 3-pointer of the game gave Albion a 56-54 advantage with about 31 seconds remaining. Wooster had a good look to send it to overtime, but the lay-up was no good and rebounded by the Britons with just a few ticks left. Albion made 1-of-2 free throws and then fouled the Fighting Scots before they could attempt a potential desperation 3-pointer.

After never leading during the first half, including a 26-24 deficit at the break, Wooster went ahead on the first possession of the second when Justin Hallowell nailed a 3-pointer. The Scots would eventually build as much as a six-point advantage on two occasions (37-31, 43-37).

The Britons tied it up at 43 with back-to-back 3-pointers from Hutton and Andre Bridges, but Wooster would remain ahead or tied until the final minute of play.

Overall, the Scots were plagued by poor shooting as they finished at 33.3 percent from the field, which matched their season-low from a year ago when they also went 18-of-54 in a 52-39 win at Allegheny College Feb. 18. Wooster also committed 18 turnovers, but it did enjoy a 41-31 edge in rebounding.

Bryan Wickliffe kept the Scots close with his second career double-double, as he had 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Hallowell connected on 3-of-7 3-pointers en route to an 11-point afternoon. Noteworthy, Brandon Johnson saw his first action since the 2007-08 season, coming back from two knee injuries since then, and he contributed with three assists and three steals, both team highs.

Hutton was the difference, scoring a career-high 16 points and Bridges added 13 for Albion.

Wooster will look to bounce back this weekend when it hosts the annual Al Van Wie/Rotary Classic. The Scots' first game of the four-team event will be against Carnegie Mellon University (0-1) Friday, with tip-off slated for 8 p.m.