Category: Blue Lights College

Gators’ Win Finalizes MBB Playoff Picture

Virginia’s Peninsula’s 79-70 win over Mid-Atlantic Christian in the final regular season conference game of the year pushes the Gators into the third seed for next week’s NSAC Basketball Tournament.

Fourth-seed Blue Lights College and Carolina Christian, which tied Christendom for the 5th seed, will open the tournament Tuesday night in Apex, North Carolina in a quarterfinal game. VPCC will host Christendom Thursday night in the other opening round matchup in Newport News, Virginia. The two winners will advance to Saturday’s semifinals at the Apprentice Athletic Center, also in Newport News.

Thanks to Joe Dotson/Christendom Athletics for the bracket graphic

Gators Playing for Third Seed Today vs MACU

Today’s game featuring Mid-Atlantic Christian at Virginia Peninsula will be the 23rd and final New South Conference men’s basketball game of the season, and still there is something to play for besides pride.

The VPCC Gators enter the contest at 2-4 in NSAC play (9-9 overall) and holding down the 4th seed for next week’s conference tournament. A Gator win would propel them into the 3rd seed ahead of Blue Lights College. This would not have an impact on the quarterfinals, which are locked in, but it does impact the semifinal bracket.

If Peninsula gets past MACU and claims the third seed, then the winner of Thursday’s VPCC/Christendom quarterfinal will play #2 MACU, and Tuesday’s BLC/Carolina Christian winner will face top seed Apprentice in next Saturday’s tournament semifinals. If The Gators lose to the Mustangs today, then VPCC and Blue Lights will keep their 3rd and 2nd seeds, respectively.

Still confused? Check back after today’s game.

Today’s game tips at 2pm at Warwick High School in Newport News, Virginia.

Top-Ranked Sandhills Escapes BLC, 100-99

PINEHURST, N.C. – The Thoroughbreds were defeated Saturday by Sandhills Community College, 100-99 in stunning fashion on Senior Day inside Heins Gym.

Much to the surprise of the Flyers’ home crowd, BLC (8-6 overall, 2-3 NSAC) held a lead for a good portion of the first half. Trailing 6-2 early, the Herd went on an 11-2 run to take a 13-8 lead, thanks in part to a couple of three-pointers by Keyshawn Bryant. With the Thoroughbreds leading 37-32 with 4:46 left in the first half, the Flyers (24-3) responded with a 17-7 run to take a 49-44 halftime lead.

Sandhills, the top-ranked Division III NJCAA team in the country, continued to gain momentum after the break. The Flyers started the second half with a 13-1 run to increase the lead to 62-45. It took the Thoroughbreds three minutes and 30 seconds to get their first field goal: a three from forward Wol Yak.

Trailing 66-53 with 14:56 left, the Thoroughbreds started chipping away at the deficit. Much like February 7th against Virginia Peninsula, Yak started cooking and lead a furious BLC comeback. The Herd completely erased the margin with an incredible 19-6 run, culminating with point guard Sam Benton Jr putting the Thoroughbreds ahead 74-72 with 9:45 left.

Much to the chagrin of the home fans, the Thoroughbreds built a 99-89 lead with 1:53 to go. It looked like BLC was about to throw cold water on the Flyers’ senior day and shock the nation, but Sandhills caught fire. The home team scored the final 11 points, capped off by a miraculous putback by Sandhills’ Jaquan Thurman with three seconds left. Benton’s three at the buzzer was no good, and the Flyers escaped.

Wol Yak lead all scorers with 31 points and 12 rebounds, playing all 40 minutes. Benton finished with 23 points, four rebounds and four assists. Bryant added 18 points, four blocks and three steals.

Story courtesy bluelightsthoroughbreds.com

Tournament Implications Loom Large Tuesday Night

Tuesday’s Blue Lights home game against Virginia Peninsula Community College will play a major factor in determining first round matchups in the 2023 New South Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament.

After this weekend’s results, here are how things stand (NSAC W-L):

Apprentice 9-0*
Mid-Atlantic Christian 5-1*
Virginia Peninsula 2-3
Blue Lights 1-3
Christendom 0-3
Carolina Christian 0-6

*Clinched first round bye

Remaining NSAC games:
Apprentice: 2 (vs Christendom, vs MACU)
MACU: 3 (vs. CCC, at Apprentice, at VPCC)
VPCC: 2 (at BLC, vs MACU)
BLC: 1 (vs VPCC)
Christendom: 1 (at Apprentice)
Carolina Christian: 1 (at MACU)

Both Apprentice and MACU have clinched a bye into the semifinals.

A BLC win against Virginia Peninsula on Tuesday will lock up an opening round game for the Herd at Hope Community Church Arena, taking place during the week of February 21st. If the Gators win, it will clinch a home game for themselves as well as a guaranteed third place finish.

A Thoroughbreds loss – combined with a Christendom win at Apprentice – would secure the Crusaders a home playoff game, forcing BLC to play on the road.

The Thoroughbreds-Gators game tips off at 6:30pm EST, airing LIVE on the Thoroughbreds Sports Network on YouTube. Christendom-Apprentice tips off 30 minutes later at 7pm EST, also on YouTube.

The NSAC Basketball Tournament final four will be held February 25 and 26 in Newport News, Virginia.

Story and image courtesy Craig Green/BLC Media

MACU Blunts BLC Comeback, 87-81

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – It appeared Mid-Atlantic Christian had its game against Blue Lights College well in hand, leading by 16 late in the contest, but had to hang on to survive a Thoroughbreds push and win at home, 87-81 on Saturday afternoon.

With MACU holding an 81-65 lead with under five minutes in regulation, BLC launched a comeback attempt, scoring 16 of the game’s final 22 points, only to fall short.

“We played well,” said Mustangs head coach Charles Sims. “The plan today was just to have fun playing. As a team we needed this. With all the ups and downs of the season and the in-house situations that come with every team, this was an important victory.”

“We had self-inflicted wounds against a good team,” Thoroughbreds coach Nolan Adams explained. “We can’t survive that.”

Talik Totten led four Mustangs in double figures with 23 points. Two Thoroughbreds recorded double-doubles: Sam Benton, Jr. scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Keyshawn Bryant had 20 and 14, respectively.

The win keeps MACU a step behind Apprentice in the NSAC standings at 5-1 and 10-8 overall. Blue Lights remains tied for third with Virginia Peninsula at 1-3 and 7-5.

Herd Wins Fourth Consecutive, 123-82

APEX, N.C. – Blue Lights College conducted a thunderstorm of offense and put away Shooting IV Greatness Prep 123-82 Tuesday night.

The Thoroughbreds were led by Keyshawn Bryant’s 35 points, Wol Yak added 28. S4G’s Justin Price led all scorers with 38.

It was the fourth straight win for BLC, which improved to 5-3 overall (1-2 NSAC).

Benton Named POTW

Blue Lights College point guard Sam Benton, Jr. averaged 19 points and had a 5.0 assist-to-turnover ratio last week to lead the Thoroughbreds to two wins. For his efforts, Sam is being recognized as the NSAC Player of the Week.

The floor general scored 23 points and and delivered 8 assists while committing only 1 turnover in a 106-101 win over Virginia-Lynchburg on Tuesday. The following night, Benton scored 15 points, hauled in 3 rebounds, and dished 2 assists to lead BLC to a 55-43 win over the North Carolina JVs in Chapel Hill. The freshman from Rocky Mount, NC led the Herd to 18 fast break points and 50% shooting from the field in the second half as the Thoroughbreds outscored the Tar Heels 30-20.

Congratulations to Sam Benton, Jr., our New South men’s basketball Player of the Week!

Blue Lights Shade Tar Heels, 55-43

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Sam Benton Jr. scored 15 points, hauled in 3 rebounds, and dished 2 assists to lead Blue Lights College to a 55-43 win over the North Carolina JV squad Wednesday night at the Dean Dome.

The freshman from Rocky Mount, NC led the Herd to 18 fast break points and 50% shooting from the field in the second half as the Thoroughbreds outscored the Tar Heels 30-20.

BLC (4-3 overall, 1-2 NSAC) is riding a three-game win streak as it travels to Crown College (TN) this Saturday.

Story and image courtesy Craig Green

Thoroughbreds Survive Rally in Downing VUL, 106-101

APEX, N.C. – Blue Lights College saw a double-digit lead wither away down the stretch but held on to defeat Virginia University of Lynchburg 106-101 Tuesday night.

The Thoroughbreds led by as many as 18 points in the second half, but the Dragons trimmed the lead to 11, 104-93, on a second-chance effort with 1:21 to play. A steal by BLC’s Randy Freeman with 34 seconds left should have sealed the deal, but the Herd was then hit with two technical fouls, on the bench and the coach, which allowed VUL’s Christian Goode to score three consecutive free throws. VUL then converted a field goal on the ensuing possession to cut BLC’s lead to five, 104-99, with 11.1 seconds left in regulation. Another Goode follow off a Blue Lights turnover made it a three-point game with five seconds to go, but the Herd’s Wol Yak converted two free throws with 3.6 second left for the final margin.

Goode finished with 27 points to lead all scorers while Yak’s 25 led the Thoroughbreds.

Blue Lights improved to 3-3 on the season and travel to Chapel Hill to face the North Carolina JVs Wednesday night at the Smith Center. VUL moves to 1-12.

Thoroughbreds Pour it on New Hope, 126-85

APEX, N.C. – Freshman point guard Sam Benton, Jr. poured in 38 points as Blue Lights College pounded visiting New Hope Collegiate 126-85 in a non-conference contest Tuesday night.

Benton recorded clinical numbers, going 16 of 20 from the floor including 6 of 7 from the bonusphere while also adding eight assists.

BLC’s Wol Yak claimed 26 points along with six boards, five assists and two blocks. Victor Ngong had a double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Malek Ngong scored 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc, plus three blocks. Keyshawn Bryant came off the bench for 11 points.

Risko Brooks led New Hope with 30 points.

BLC’s point total tied the second-highest output in Thoroughbreds history, eclipsed only by the 141 points scored in a win over Lake Raleigh Prep last season on February 19.

BLC (2-3 overall, 1-2 NSAC) ends the semester with a win as the NSAC game at Carolina Christian scheduled for Wednesday night has been postponed.