Month: January 2024

Blue Lights Holds Off MACU Rally in Shootout 120-113

APEX, N.C. – It was an offense-lover’s dream.

Blue Lights College and Mid-Atlantic Christian set a new record for points scored in an NSAC contest Tuesday night as the Thoroughbreds held off a late Mustang rally 120-113.

BLC (10-5 overall, 3-1 NSAC) scored the first five points and continued the scoring onslaught until halftime, leading 63-47 at the break. They increased the lead to as many as 19 in the second half before MACU began to chip away at the margin.

Mid-Atlantic (4-13, 2-2) maintained its poise and began to convert turnovers into points, eventually trimming the lead to four before the Thoroughbreds used the free throw line to seal the deal in the final minute.

Point guard Sam Benton, Jr. set a new BLC scoring with 47 points, eclipsing the old mark of 45 set by Jorge Garcia in 2018.

The win puts Blue Lights in a tie with Apprentice for second place in the NSAC standings at 3-1 with both teams claiming a win over the other. Atlantis remains technically at the top, having won its only conference game to this point.

Harriers Pull Away from Atlantis 93-68

HAMILTON Oh. – Miami Hamilton raced out to a 20-point lead in the first eight minutes and never looked back in cruising to a 93-68 win over visiting Atlantis Sunday afternoon.

The Harriers, ranked 13th among USCAA Division 2 schools, seemed to have little trouble getting the ball in the basket against the Atlanteans, who were wrapping up a two-game road trip in Ohio and currently ranked 6th in USCAA Division 1.

Atlantis (9-11 overall, 1-0 NSAC) has more than a week off before heading to the Carolinas and Virginia for a four-game stand, opening February 8 at Clinton College.

Image courtesy Miami Hamilton Athletics

FINALLY!

Apprentice Defeats JWU for First Time in Program History

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – For the first time in program history, the Apprentice School men’s basketball team defeated Johnson & Wales Saturday afternoon 84-65.

The game was never in question as the Builders (15-4 overall, 3-1 NSAC) jumped out quickly to a 23-13 lead eight minutes in. From there, Apprentice continued to hit shots while forcing 24 Wildcat turnovers on the day to lead by as many as 28 points with six minutes to go.

The win over the Wildcats (8-9) puts Apprentice as winners of 10 of the last 11, one of the best stretches of games in program history.

Apprentice is ranked number one in USCAA Division 1, while JWU is ranked 11th in Division 2.

Adrion Wall led the way for the Builders with 17 points, including three made threes. Kurij Harrell added 15 off the bench, while Kelby Saunders, Jr. had 13, including three shots from distance of his own. Donovan Means had six steals, marking the 39th time in program history a player has had six or more steals in a game.

The two sides had met eight times prior to Saturday, including multiple matchups as part of the former Eastern States Athletic Conference. Seven of the previous eight matchups were decided by single digits.

The Builders will next hit the road to take on USCAA D1 5th-ranked Manor on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Story courtesy Walker McCrary/Apprentice Athletics; Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

MACU Knocks Off #5 Manor 98-91

JENKINTOWN, Pa. – Mid-Atlantic Christian put together what could arguably be its best performance of the season in defeating Manor College on the road Saturday afternoon 98-91.

The Mustangs (4-12 overall, 2-1 NSAC) trailed by six at the half, but regrouped after the intermission to take the lead and pull away for the win over the USCAA fifth-ranked Blue Jays (7-3).

“This game had a lot on the line for the team,” said MACU coach Charles Sims. “Another opportunity, this time facing the number five-ranked team in USCAA DI men’s basketball. The players each knew how much this game meant in order for us to turn around the season. They made up in their minds that we would not go back to Elizabeth City with a loss, and we didn’t.”

Three Mustangs recorded double-doubles, led by Noah Richardson-Keys who lit it up for a game-high 37 points with 11 rebounds and five assists. Josh Tyler drained 23 points with 10 boards, and Carlos Raven contributed 17 and 10, respectively.

MACU continues its road stretch Tuesday at NSAC opponent Blue Lights College.

Photo credit Charles Sims/MACU Athletics

Blue Lights Stuns Top-Ranked Apprentice 99-83

APEX, N.C. – Blue Lights used stellar shooting to lead by as many as 22 points in the second half and defeat USCAA top-ranked Apprentice 99-83 in NSAC action Tuesday night.

Blue Lights (9-5, 2-1) shot 48 percent from distance in the first half to jump out to a 12-point lead by halftime. The Thoroughbreds extended their lead to as many as 24 early in the second half before the Builders went on a run, cutting the lead to 11 midway through the second half. BLC withstood the pressure and held on to get the win in conference play.

But Thoroughbreds sophomore Wol Yak said it really started on the other end of the floor.

“Defense leads to offense,” Yak said after the game. “We planned to stop them with defense and get the ball back leading to offense. This is the game we had been waiting for all year. This is the one team we had to beat, and we did it.”

“Proud of our team for winning nine games straight coming into today,” said Builders coach Evan Kee. “Credit to Blue Lights for putting together a complete game today. We look forward to using this game as a learning lesson and bouncing back this weekend.”

It was a night of firsts in Apex. Apprentice (14-4 overall, 3-1 NSAC) lost to a conference opponent for the first time since joining the league in 2022. The game also marked Blue Lights’ first win over a ranked opponent in the program’s seven-year history.

In their first meeting of the season on January 6, Apprentice defeated Blue Lights 94-89.

BLC freshman Kalil Baker led all scorers with 33 points. Freshman Donovan Means led the Builders with 25 points.

Apprentice returns home to host Johnson & Wales, ranked 10th in USCAA Division 2, on Saturday. Blue Lights hosts MACU in an NSAC game Tuesday, January 30.

Image courtesy Craig Green/BLC Media. Thanks to Walker McCray/Apprentice Athletics for his help with this story

Means Claims Player of the Week Honors for 2nd Time

For the second time this season, Donovan Means of The Apprentice School is named as the men’s basketball Player of the Week.

In the Builders’ lone game of the week, Means had 23 points (9-14 FG, 4-5 3pt) and 10 rebounds in leading AS over MACU 90-82.

The 6’3″ freshman guard from Chesterfield, Virginia was also named POTW in the first week of the season.

Congrats to Donovan Means, the NSAC Player of the Week!

Image courtesy Apprentice School Athletics

Wildcats Cruise Past Thoroughbreds

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Blue Lights College struggled to find its rhythm without the services of leading scorer Kalil Baker and fell to Johnson & Wales 103-62 on Saturday afternoon.

The Wildcats, ranked tenth in USCAA Division 2, scorched the nets to the tune of 55.7% shooting, and 52.4% from the three point line. JWU (7-8) jumped out to a 27-11 lead in the first ten minutes and was never threatened the rest of the way. The final margin of 41 proved to be the Wildcats’ largest lead of the game.

JWU’s Jaben Mars led all scorers with 24 points. Wol Yak has 18 for the Thoroughbreds, who move to 8-5 on the season.

Story Courtesy JWU Athletics Image Courtesy BLC Media

Anderson Out at Atlantis

In an unexpected move, Atlantis University has released men’s head basketball coach Antwann Anderson.

Anderson was in his third season with the Atlanteans. They finished 18-2 in their inaugural 2021-22 season, then joined the USCAA in 2022 and accepted an invitation to compete in the USCAA National Tournament as the seventh seed. Atlantis is currently ranked sixth.

The school announced that the move was due to budget concerns.

The team is scheduled to play at Fisher College in Massachusetts tonight. Assistant coach Francisco Hernandez, the former head coach at Florida Palms University, has been named interim coach.

Anderson’s departure marks the second NSAC mid-season coaching change in the past month. Nolan Adams stepped down at Blue Lights College before the start of the spring semester. Denzel Johnson was named interim there.

Image courtesy auatlanteans.com

CIC, Blue Lights Trade Opponents

Events over the past few weeks have had men’s basketball teams scrambling to make adjustments to continue their seasons and fill holes in their schedules. This has led to two NSAC teams trading opponents.

The departure of coach Nolan Adams from the Blue Lights sidelines in mid-season created some uncertainty as to whether the Thoroughbreds would be able to participate in Apprentice’s MLK Classic last weekend. Enter Central International College to fill in. This also allowed the Cardinals to make up the conference game with Apprentice that was postponed from December 10 due to floor conditions.

Now, it’s Blue Lights’ chance to step in. CIC is suffering attrition issues including an ankle injury starting point guard Jordan Harrington suffered during the MLK. With the Cards shorthanded, the Herd will take their place in a non-conference game Saturday at Johnson & Wales.

The NSAC game between CIC and BLC scheduled for this past Tuesday in Apex, North Carolina was postponed, but they are set to play again on Tuesday, February 6.

Photo by Austin Kehmeier on Unsplash