Guard Gravon Goodman led Atlantis to a 1-1 split at Bucks County Community College and has been named the NSAC men’s basketball Player of the Week.
The sophomore transfer from Copiah Lincoln Community College averaged 28 pts and 6.5 assists against the defending Eastern State Athletic Conference champs.
Honorable Mention:
Congratulations to Gravon Goodman and all the nominees!
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Apprentice School Department of Athletics is set to host the Great Ships Classic basketball tournament this weekend at the Apprentice School Athletics Center.
Over the course of Saturday and Sunday, six different institutions will come to Newport News to take part in the tournament. On the women’s side, Cheyney, Clinton, and Washington Adventist will participate, while the men’s side will include Central International, Central Penn, and Mid-Atlantic Christian.
Saturday at 4:00 pm, the CIC and MACU men’s teams will tangle in an NSAC rematch. The Mustangs (1-7 overall, 1-0 NSAC) nipped the Cardinals 101-77 on November 8 in Elizabeth City. On Sunday, second-ranked Apprentice (6-3) will face Central (5-4, 0-1) at 6:00 pm. It will be the Builders’ first conference game of the year.
Games each day will start at 12 p.m. with four games happening per day. The Builder basketball teams will play the first two games of the day Saturday and the last two on Sunday.
Story and Image courtesy gobuilders.com
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The transition game was the key for the Apprentice School men’s basketball team to get back on the winning track over Regent Wednesday night 99-54.
After the Royals opened the game with the first basket of the night, the Builders went on a 17-4 run to secure the lead and never let the game get closer than seven. Apprentice led the game by 14 at halftime and by as many as the final 45-point margin.
Donovan Means led all scorers with a career-high 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the floor. Adrion Wall put up 17, while Kurij Harrell and Avin Hawkins added 14 and 12 off the bench, respectively.
The Builders outscored Regent in fast break points, 32-2, while also getting 37 points off turnovers. Regent had just five points off Builder turnovers.
Apprentice will now turn their attention to the Great Ships Classic this weekend when they play host to the two-day tournament. The Builders will open the tournament against Central Penn at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Story and image courtesy gobuilders.com
Blue Lights went one-and-one last week with a win over the Livingstone JV squad and a close loss at a much-improved Johnson and Wales. Wol Yak was a huge part of all that success averaging a double-double. The sophomore forward poured in 35 points at home against the Blue Bears with 13 boards. For the week Yak averaged 25.5 points and 10 boards as well as four blocks over the two games. For his efforts, sophomore Wol Yak has been named the New South Men’s Basketball Player of the Week.
Apprentice junior guard Karree Smith also had a standout week, going 6-of-6 from the field and finishing with 13 points against Greensboro College and 7-of-9 with 23 points against NC Wesleyan. Smith was named to the Roger Taylor Invitational All-Tournament Team and receives Honorable Mention from the NSAC.
The first basketball polls of the year are out in the USCAA, and the New South Conference is well represented as the Apprentice men’s and women’s teams as well as the Atlantis men are in the top 5 of their respective polls.
The Apprentice men have garnered the number 2 national ranking, trailing only Bryant & Stratton Syracuse. Head coach Evan Kee is pleased with the recognition and says he’s looking forward to returning to Petersburg, Virginia, the site of the USCAA Small College Championships.
“We are thrilled that our strong start to the season has led to an early season #2 ranking,” said Kee. “We’ve played a challenging opening schedule and we are happy to have come out with some convincing wins. We understand that the only poll that truly matters is the final one, which will be the crowned national champion. We hope to be in position to finish the season number one in the country and to cut down nets at Virginia State University.”
The Builders are picking up where they left off last season when they went undefeated in conference play, won the NSAC tournament title, and advanced to the USCAA semifinals before falling to Bryant & Stratton Buffalo 77-75.
Atlantis comes into the poll ranked number 4. The new NSAC member also appeared in the national tournament last season in its first year of eligibility, but fell victim to B&S Buffalo in the opening round 73-64.
B&S Buffalo is at number three. Salem University, last year’s national champion, rounds out the top 5.
The Apprentice women crack the season-opening rankings at number four. The Lady Builders fell to eventual champion D’Youville in the national semifinals last year 75-48.
After a needed Thanksgiving Day break, New South teams return to action this week to a slate of interesting matchups.
Blue Lights opens the week on Tuesday by hosting the JV team from Livingstone, The Thoroughbreds (4-2) hope to end a two-game slide by getting key players back from injuries.
Wednesday night is Rivalry Night in Miami as Atlantis (3-2) hosts cross-town foe United International College.
It’s officially called the Roger Taylor Classic, but Apprentice (5-1) and MACU (1-4) consider the weekend of games in Rocky Mount, North Carolina to be the “NSAC-USA South Showdown.” On Friday, the Builders face Greensboro College and the Thoroughbreds tackle NC Wesleyan. They switch opponents on Saturday.
Central International (4-4) gets back to action on Monday, December 4, taking on a much-improved Patrick Henry College team.
Lighthouse (5-2) will try to knock the rust off from a two-week layoff when it travels to Atlantis on December 6. It will mark the first-ever NSAC conference game for both teams.
CLIFTON FORGE, Va. – Angel Pacheco-Ortiz recorded a double-double as the Apprentice School men’s basketball team pushed past Mountain Gateway Community College Saturday afternoon 73-58.
The Builders led wire-to-wire, starting the game with an 8-0 run and never looking back. Apprentice held the Roadrunners scoreless through the first 5:21 of the game in their home gym and stretched the lead to as many as 19 by halftime.
MGCC came back in the second half, cutting the lead down to as few as six with just under four minutes to go, but the Builders finished the final four minutes on a 13-2 run to put the game away.
Pacheco-Ortiz finished with 12 points and 11 boards to lead 12 Builders who put points in the scoring column. He was the only Builder to finish with double figures.
Story and image courtesy gobuilders.com
Donovan Means of Apprentice is being recognized as the first men’s basketball Player of the Week for 2023-24 by the New South Conference.
The 6’3″ freshman guard from Chesterfield, Virginia made an immediate impact leading the Builders in their first two matches of the season, averaging 19.5 points, 3 steals per game, was 5-10 from 3, and 10-11 from the free throw line for the weekend’s action.
Congratulations to Donovan Means, the NSAC Player of the Week!
MONT ALTO, Pa. – Freshman Donovan Means averaged 19.5 points per game as the Apprentice School men’s basketball team opened up the 2023-24 season with a split at this weekend’s Benchoff Tournament, hosted by Penn State Mont Alto.
GAME ONE – PSU York 79, Apprentice 70
PSU York jumped out to an early 14-10 lead before the Builders went on an 11-0 run over a four minute span to take a 21-14 lead with 8:20 to go in the first half. The Nittany Lions answered right back, scoring the next seven to tie things up at 21-21.
After the teams traded baskets, York reeled off a 15-2 run to take a 38-25 lead with just over 90 seconds to go before halftime. Although Apprentice pulled the deficit down to eight at one point, the Nittany Lions hit a three late in the half to take an 11 point lead into intermission.
York came out on fire in the second half, stretching their lead to as many as 23 before the Builders were able to bring it back to a seven point game midway through the second half. Apprentice could get no closer as the lead hovered around seven for the final stretch of the game.
Means finished with a game-high 23 points, while five York players ended in double figures.
GAME TWO – Apprentice 66, PSU Mont Alto 58
Saturday’s game was back-and-forth early until the Builders started to pull away at the 6:08 mark when they started an 8-0 run that extended a two-point game to a 28-18 lead for Apprentice with 3:03 to play before halftime. Mont Alto trimmed the lead back down to four, but the Builders added two baskets late in the period to take a 34-26 lead to the locker room at halftime.
The Nittany Lions cut the lead to three early in the second half, but Apprentice answered with a 10-0 run that spanned 4:36 of the half to take a 13-point lead. Mont Alto cut the lead down to as few as two points with 1:53 left, but Apprentice scored the final six points of the game to earn their first win of the season.
Means again had a game-high 16 points, while Angel Pacheco-Ortiz finished with a double-double of 14 points and 11 boards. Karree Smith also had 14 points, and Tony Epps, Jr. had 11 points, including three three-pointers.
Story and image courtesy gobuilders.com
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Apprentice School men’s basketball team, fresh off its NSAC championship, earned the No. 3 seed in the upcoming USCAA National Championship to be contested in Richmond, Virginia, March 12-16, the national office announced Sunday afternoon.
The Builders will take on sixth-seed MUW Monday, March 13, at 4 p.m. at Richard Bland College. This will be the first meeting between the two schools.
Paul Quinn earned the top seed with Bryant & Stratton (Buffalo) named number 2. Salem was the No. 4 seed and will take on fifth-seeded Bryant & Stratton (Syracuse). Atlantis claimed the seventh seed, while Bluefield State was the last team in at No. 8.
This is the third straight tournament berth for Apprentice.
Tickets for the tournament may be purchased here.
Story and image courtesy gobuilders.com
