Month: January 2023

Totten Gifts MACU with Winning Bucket

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – Mid-Atlantic Christian senior Talik Totten decided to give his team a gift on his birthday. The guard from Ahoskie, NC drained a three with 4.2 seconds remaining to lift MACU to a 70-68 win over visiting Virginia Peninsula in the Mustang’s NSAC opener.

The victory, and how they obtained it, was a test for head coach Charles Sims’ team.

“I saw something new emerge from the team tonight that I knew we have had all the time and that was true grit and just the determination to get it done,” said Sims. “This was yet another game that pushed us to another level.”

That level is now a statistical tie with Apprentice atop the NSAC standings. The Herd improved to 6-6 overall with the win. VPCC dropped to 7-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

Each team fought hard with nine lead changes and eight ties. Neither team led by more than 8 points.

MACU’s Noah Richardson-Keys led all scorers with 22 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Totten added 16 points, including the game winner.

“For him to hit that shot at a pivotal moment that secured the lead was awesome,” beamed Sims after the game.

The Gators’ Javion Majette led VPCC with 17 points while Keshaun Johnson marked a double-double, 14 points along with 10 boards.

Thoroughbreds Survive Rally in Downing VUL, 106-101

APEX, N.C. – Blue Lights College saw a double-digit lead wither away down the stretch but held on to defeat Virginia University of Lynchburg 106-101 Tuesday night.

The Thoroughbreds led by as many as 18 points in the second half, but the Dragons trimmed the lead to 11, 104-93, on a second-chance effort with 1:21 to play. A steal by BLC’s Randy Freeman with 34 seconds left should have sealed the deal, but the Herd was then hit with two technical fouls, on the bench and the coach, which allowed VUL’s Christian Goode to score three consecutive free throws. VUL then converted a field goal on the ensuing possession to cut BLC’s lead to five, 104-99, with 11.1 seconds left in regulation. Another Goode follow off a Blue Lights turnover made it a three-point game with five seconds to go, but the Herd’s Wol Yak converted two free throws with 3.6 second left for the final margin.

Goode finished with 27 points to lead all scorers while Yak’s 25 led the Thoroughbreds.

Blue Lights improved to 3-3 on the season and travel to Chapel Hill to face the North Carolina JVs Wednesday night at the Smith Center. VUL moves to 1-12.

Gators Open NSAC Defense with 92-69 Win

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Virginia Peninsula got two double-double performances and a balanced scoring attack in downing Carolina Christian 92-69 Sunday afternoon.

Javion Majette, the 2022 NSAC MVP, scored 23 points and hauled in 12 rebounds to lead the Gators. He was joined by Keshaun Johnson, who posted 16 and 12, respectively. Two other Gators came close to double-squared as Jaquan Majette carded 16 and 9, and Quishaun Brevard added 14 and 9.

It was the conference opener for VPCC, the defending NSAC champs, who improved to 7-3 overall. The Centurions moved to 3-7 overall and 0-3 in league play.

Peninsula continues NSAC action Wednesday night at MACU, while CCC travels to Clinton College for a non-conference game, also on Wednesday.

Image courtesy vpcc.edu

Builders Dominate CIC, Improve to 4-0 in NSAC

RICHMOND, Va. – The Apprentice School men’s basketball team moved to 4-0 in New South Athletic Conference play with an 86-48 win over Central International Saturday afternoon.

After CIC (2-2 overall, 1-2 NSAC) hit a layup off the opening tip, Apprentice went on a 12-3 run to take the lead and not look back, leading for the rest of the contest. The lead got out to 32 by halftime at 50-18 and stretched to as many as 42 points before the final horn.

  • Shawn Eley had a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Tony Epps, Jr. finished two assists shy of a triple-double, notching 10 points and 10 boards to go with his eight dimes.
  • Karree Smith also finished in double figures with 11 points.
  • Apprentice (9-5, 4-0) shot 59.2 percent from the floor, hitting 5-of-10 threes along the way.

The game was in stark contrast to the November 12 meeting between the two teams when CIC trailed by only one with less than two minutes to play. The Builders would score the final six points to secure the win, 87-80.

Story and image courtesy gobuilders.com