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