NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Carolina Christian led twice in the final three minutes but could not close the deal as Apprentice survived the upset-minded Centurions 81-78 Saturday afternoon.

The Builders took their largest lead of the game on a Jayden Eason layup at 54-44 with 12:48 to play in the second half, but the Centurions would not fold and started to chip away at the lead. Daishaun George gave CCC a 74-73 lead off a layup with 3:08 remaining, but a Caleb Mielewski shot returned the favor for Apprentice just 12 seconds later. Two free throws by the Centurions’ Antonio Baldwin gave them a 76-75 advantage at the 1:57 mark, but another Eason bucket flipped the lead again 11 seconds later.

The teams traded buckets once again before Shawn Eley put an exclamation point on the game with a Builder dunk at :17. A George 3-point attempt missed with 2 seconds to play for the final score.

Adrion Wall came of the bench with 19 points for Apprentice, and Eley recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards. Reserve Eli Faybain led the Centurions with 19.

Apprentice remains undefeated in conference play at 9-0 and 14-7 overall. Carolina Christian moves to 0-5 and 3-12.

Image courtesy gobuilders.com