Congratulations to Apprentice and Mid-Atlantic Christian, who placed both of their men’s and women’s basketball teams in the first USCAA Coaches Polls of the season.
The Builders placed seventh on the men’s side and ninth for the women, while the Mustangs come in at eighth and tenth, respectively.
BUENA VISTA, Va. – Perhaps the turkey had not had time to wear off for the Builders. Regardless, Apprentice fell behind early and tied the game, but could not overtake Southern Virginia, eventually falling 80-71 in a non-conference matchup on Saturday.
Southern Virginia (3-3) would hold Apprentice scoreless in the first three-and-a-half minutes of the game, jumping out to an early 8-0 advantage. After the slow start, the Builders would catch fire, going on a 10-2 run to tie the game in the early stages of the first half. The tie was the closest the game would be, with the Builders never leading in the match.
Although Apprentice (2-2 overall, 2-0 NSAC) never held an advantage, it would not go away without a fight, cutting the deficit to two with just over three minutes remaining in the first half. Both defenses would lock down in the closing minutes of the first stanza with the only points coming from the Knights, who would score just four points in the final four minutes, including a Baker driving layup as time expired to give his team a six point lead at the break.
In the second 20 minutes, Southern Virginia looked to run away with the game but Apprentice held its ground.
A Brian Tapia three-pointer would stretch the Knights’ lead to 16, the largest of the game, with just over six minutes on the clock. The Builders did their best to battle back, but the advantage proved to be too much and the game ended with a score of 80-71 in favor of the Knights, who shot an impressive 60 percent from the field in the second half.
SVU’s Malakai Olson led all scorers with 21 points. Alvin Hawkins led Apprentice with 17.
This was the third-ever meeting between the programs with the Builders winning the first matchup in 2018 and the Knights evening the series last season, winning 77-66 in Knight Arena.
Story and image courtesy knightathletics.com
NEWPORT NEWS, VA – In a game reminiscent of its conference opener just four nights ago, Apprentice held off a New South opponent with upset on its mind for a close win, this time an 87-80 win over visiting Central International.
The Builders (2-1 overall, 2-0 NSAC) pushed out to lead by as many as 12 in the first half, only to have the Cardinals launch into a 9-2 run going into intermission trailing 40-34. The Redbirds also manufactured an 11-0 outburst early in the second half to take their first lead of the game, 52-51, and exchanged the lead with AS several times until the final two minutes. CIC (0-1, 0-1) would pull within one at 81-80 with 1:43 left, but the Builders would score the last six points of the game to seal the deal.
Apprentice defeated Blue Lights on Tuesday in the opener for both schools, 80-73.
This was the season opener for CIC.
Central All-Conference guard Ty Rias scored 23 points to lead all scorers while Apprentice’s Shawn Eley recorded a double-double (21 points, 15 rebounds).
WINCHESTER, Va. – The Apprentice School men’s basketball team dropped a nailbiter in a non-conference game at Shenandoah Thursday night, 63-58.
The Builders (1-1) and Hornets went back-and-forth throughout the game with neither team leading by more than seven points. With 2:45 to play, Avin Hawkins hit a layup to tie the game at 55-55 before Shenandoah finished the night on an 8-3 run to take the win.
The Builders cut the Hornet lead to two points with just three ticks left on the clock but could get no closer.
Apprentice returns home on Saturday to face NSAC foe Central International at 4:00 pm.
Story courtesy gobuilders.com; image courtesy suhornets.com
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – After fighting to a 32-32 draw at halftime, Apprentice pulled away from Blue Lights in the game’s final 10 minutes to claim an 80-73 win in the season opener for both teams.
The Builders (1-0 overall, 1-0 NSAC) led by as many as 10 down the stretch, but BLC always seemed to have an answer, most often a three pointer, to get the lead manageable again. Blue Lights (0-1, 0-1) actually outshot Apprentice 39.7% to 36.5%, but the Builders made the most of their rebounds, outscoring the Herd 23-13 on second chances.
BLC’s Wol Yak led all scorers with 23 points. Apprentice’s Adrion Wall came off the bench to lead the Builders with 21.
It was the season and conference opener for both squads.
Apprentice School and Blue Lights College are wasting no time jumping into the conference schedule as they will start their seasons with the New South Conference Tip-Off Classic tonight in Virginia Beach.
The Builders are coming off a 14-15 campaign that saw them advance to the Eastern Metro Athletic Conference finals and the USCAA tournament. Apprentice is picked to finish second in the NSAC under the leadership of veteran coach Evan Kee.
The Thoroughbreds finished 18-12 in ’21-22 but sport a fresh new lineup and are led by first year coach Nolan Adams. BLC is tabbed to finish fifth.
The two teams met in January last season with Apprentice taking a 91-80 win.
Game time is 6:00 pm and can be viewed here.
Virginia Peninsula has been tabbed to repeat as NSAC men’s basketball champs this season in a vote by the league’s coaches, with Apprentice and Mid-Atlantic hot on their heels.
VPCC, formerly Thomas Nelson Community College, swept through the conference undefeated last year and finished 18-1 overall, their only loss to 10th-ranked Sandhills.
Both the Gators and the Builders collected three first-place votes, showing how much respect they have among their fellow coaches.
Here are some of the comments from the league’s coaches entering the season:
