Category: Blue Lights College

Blue Lights Forfeits, Will Not Participate in Tournament

Blue Lights College, the third seed in the 2024 NSAC Men’s Basketball Tournament beginning tomorrow, informed the conference on Thursday morning that it will not be making the trip to Newport News due to institutional reasons.

“I am extremely disappointed,” said conference commissioner Mike Davis. “Blue Lights was the first conference team to beat Apprentice in the past two years, and they bring an exciting brand of basketball. Their absence will be felt. I’m particularly saddened that their outstanding players will not get the opportunity to battle for a championship. I am sorry they have not been set up for success.”

The Thoroughbreds’ scheduled quarterfinal game against Central International, scheduled for Friday at 6:00 pm, will be considered a forfeit, and the Cardinals will automatically advance to face Apprentice in Saturday’s semifinals.

Friday’s other quarterfinal, Atlantis versus Mid-Atlantic Christian, will go on as scheduled at 4:00 pm. All games will take place at the Apprentice Athletic Center in Newport News, Virginia.

Lighthouse Defense Shuts Down BLC 104-85

APEX, N.C. – Lighthouse Christian used its height and length to frustrate Blue Lights and take a convincing 104-85 NSAC win Tuesday night.

LCC (15-4 overall, 1-1 NSAC) converted Thoroughbreds’ turnovers into points with tenacious defense while dominating the boards. The Makos led 51-47 at the half before BLC trimmed the margin to two, but that is as close as they would get.

The Makos’ Eddie Brown led the scoring with 39 points including 12 points from beyond the arc. Kalil Baker scored 25 for the Thoroughbreds.

BLC (12-6, 5-2) travels to NJCAA number 13 Sandhills on Saturday. Lighthouse faces Central International College this afternoon in Richmond, Virginia, then travels to Newport News to take on USCAA top-ranked Apprentice Thursday night.

BLC Holds MACU at Bay 92-83

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – Blue Lights College continued to stake its claim for the top seed in the upcoming NSAC men’s basketball tournament with a 92-83 conference win at Mid-Atlantic Christian Saturday afternoon.

MACU (5-15 overall, 2-3 NSAC) opened up a 5-0 lead in the first minute and 21 seconds, but the Thoroughbreds (12-5, 5-1) would tie the game three times before taking a 16-14 lead on a Jaye Bookhart field goal at 13:55. Elijah Cox would tie the game again for the Mustangs on two free throws 13 seconds later, but a 2-pointer by Sam Benton Jr. at 13:15 to play in the first would give BLC a lead they would never relinquish.

Blue Lights would hold a 50-45 advantage at halftime and extend it to as many as 14, 80-66, with 7:54 remaining.

Benton’s double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds led a balanced attack for the Thoroughbreds, who had five players in double-figure scoring. Noah Richardson-Keys led MACU with a double-double of 26 points and 10 boards.

Image courtesy USCAA Sports Network and MACU Athletics

BLC Scoring Onslaught Too Much for CIC

APEX, N.C. – Sophomores Wol Yak and Sam Benton, Jr. scored 38 points apiece to lead Blue Lights College to an overpowering 117-72 NSAC win against Central International College Tuesday night.

BLC (11-5 overall, 4-1 NSAC) continued its torrid scoring pace, topping the century mark for the seventh time this season and the third time in the last four games. The Herd is averaging 93.3 points per game.

Junior forward Ty Rias led the Cardinals (7-10, 0-5) with 16 points.

Blue Lights travels to Elizabeth City, North Carolina on Saturday for a conference rematch with Mid-Atlantic Christian. The Thoroughbreds outpaced the Mustangs 120-113 on January 30 in Apex.

CIC steps outside the conference Saturday for a game at 11th-ranked Johnson & Wales.

Image credit Craig Green/BLC Media

Benton’s Record-Breaking Game Leads to POTW Honors

Point guard Sam Benton, Jr. has been a constant for Blue Lights College the past two years, starting every game he’s played in and averaging 38 minutes per game. This past week though, Sam did something no other Thoroughbred has done before: Benton scored 47 points in one game, breaking the school single-game scoring record.

Benton totaled 47 points, seven assists, four boards, and three steals in Tuesday’s win over conference rival MACU. Benton’s onslaught and BLC’s win kept them undefeated at home this season, and for his record-setting effort, the Thoroughbred guard has been named the New South Conference Player of the Week.

Congratulations, Sam!

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.

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

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

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

Top-ranked Apprentice Holds Off BLC 94-89

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