NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Top-seeded Apprentice School rallied late in its New South Athletic Conference tournament semifinal game to defeated 4th seed Blue Lights College 97-88 and advance into Sunday’s title game.

BLC (9-7) played the Builders (19-7) tough for all 40 minutes, holding various leads throughout the game. The Herd protected the paint and dared the Builders to beat them from the perimeter. Apprentice answered with eight three-pointers in the first half, accounting for half of their field goals, and led 48-44 at the halftime break.

Apprentice’s lead fizzled away, thanks to a 7-0 run to start the second half. BLC’s lead grew to as many as seven with 13:49 left but Apprentice fought back to take a 74-73 lead with just under 10 minutes to play. The Herd led 78-76 with eight minutes left, but the NSAC regular-season champion Builders responded with solid defense, holding BLC scoreless for the next three minutes. With 4:15 to go, Apprentice mounted a 93-80 advantage that ended up being too much for the Thoroughbreds to withstand down the stretch.

NSAC MVP Shawn Eley of Apprentice led all scorers with 35 points, recording a double-double paired with 15 rebounds and made 11-of-12 free throws. The Builders made 15 threes altogether and scored 21 points off BLC turnovers.

The Thoroughbreds’ All-NSAC forward Wol Yak poured in 24 points, while Sam Benton Jr. added 22.

Apprentice now faces Virginia Peninsula, a 70-63 winner over Mid-Atlantic Christian in the day’s second semifinal, for the championship Sunday at 4:00 pm.

Story courtesy Craig Green/BLC Media