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
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Clifton Goode finished with a career-high 19 points and 11 rebounds as No. 1 Apprentice took down ninth-ranked United International College on the final day of the MLK Classic Sunday 87-73.
The Builders (13-3 overall, 2-0 NSAC) are now 10-0 at home this season and have not lost in Newport News in the last 16 home games, dating back to an 11-point loss to Berkeley at home last February.
The Eagle Rays (6-8) took an early lead, coming out of the gates with a 21-15 lead midway through the first half, but the Builders answered with a 15-3 run over the next seven minutes of play to take a 30-24 lead. After being out in front 40-31 at halftime, the Builders saw their lead cut to three multiple times in the first five minutes of the second half before extending the advantage to as many as 17 to keep their unbeaten home winning streak intact.
In addition to Goode’s stat line, Adrion Wall also recorded a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Karree Smith added 12, while Avin Hawkins contributed 11.
The Builders are in action again on Tuesday as they jump back into NSAC play at Mid-Atlantic Christian. Tip time is set for 7 p.m. in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
Story and image courtesy gobuilders.com
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Apprentice hit a program record 18 three pointers as the Builders raced past Central International Saturday 118-70 in the MLK Classic.
The Builders (12-3 overall, 2-0 NSAC) opened the game on a 12-0 run and led 22-5 just seven minutes into the contest before CIC (7-7, 0-3) finally got rolling, cutting the lead down to as few as eight. Apprentice, ranked number 1 in the USCAA, responded with three-pointer after three-pointer to pull away and stay unbeaten in New South Athletic Conference action.
Adrion Wall had a game-high 28 points, hitting five threes on the day. Karree Smith and Donovan Means each had 15 points, while Xavien Hunter added 13 and Avin Hawkins put up 10.
The 118 points scored is the second most all-time only behind a 2009 performance against Ohio State-Marion on February 27, 2009.
In the other MLK Classic game on the men’s side Saturday, Camp defeated UIC 87-77.
The Builders will take on UIC tomorrow at 2 p.m. to wrap up the MLK Classic.
Story courtesy Walker McCrary/gobuilders.com. Photo by Mike Davis.
Top-ranked Apprentice opened NSAC conference play on Saturday with a hard-fought win over Blue Lights and cruised to a non-conference victory over Gallaudet on Sunday. The Builders were led by Adrion Wall, who averaged 18 points and six rebounds in the two games and has been named the Player of the Week.
Wall, a 6-3 junior guard from Norfolk, scored 15 points and grabbed five boards as the Builders picked up their first NSAC win of the year. On Sunday, Wall led all scorers with 21 while hauling in seven boards, two assists, and two steals.
Honorable Mention: Eddie Brown, Lighthouse Christian College
Congratulations to Adrion Wall, the NSAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week!
Image courtesy gobuilders.com
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Despite trailing for a majority of the game, the No. 1-ranked Apprentice School men’s basketball team battled to claim a 94-89 win over Blue Lights College in the New South Athletic Conference opener for both teams Saturday afternoon.
The Thoroughbreds withstood an early 8-0 push by the Builders, responding with an 8-0 run of their own to keep the game going back-and-forth early on. With the score in favor of the Builders at 24-18 midway through the first half, Blue Lights answered with a 19-4 run to take a 37-28 lead late in the period. BLC led the game at the half, 45-41, and held on to the advantage much of the second half.
In its first game under interim coach Denzel Johnson, Blue Lights (7-4 overall, 0-1 NSAC) led 72-66 at the midway point of the second half before the Builders rattled off seven straight points over a 1:53 span to retake the lead for the first time since halfway through the first period at 73-72. The game teetered back and forth before Apprentice (10-3, 1-0) reeled off a 7-0 spurt with 2:30 to play to take a 92-87 lead, a lead that would hold to give the Builders their first conference win of the season.
Sam Benton, Jr. led five Thoroughbreds in double-figure scoring with 23. Donovan Means finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds for Apprentice, 15 of those points coming in the second half. Five other Builders finished in double figures.
Story and image courtesy gobuilders.com
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.
