NEWPORT NEWS, VA. - The Apprentice School men's basketball team
used a 23-7 run over a 6:32 span of the second half to rally from a
14-point deficit and knock off U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association
rival Southern Virginia 93-85 on Tuesday.
Southern Virginia University (9-12) raced out to an early 9-4
advantage on a Tanner Johnson runner in the lane with 17:04
left. The Knights held a lead for most of the first half,
eventually stretching it to 45-31 on a Bryce Pendleton 3-pointer
with 2:52 left in the half. Apprentice School scored eight of
the last 10 points in the half cutting the deficit to 45-39 on a
Norman Washington stick back with 49 seconds remaining.
In the second half, the Builders scored six of the first eight
points cutting a halftime deficit to 49-45 on a Jason Arrington
tip-in with 17:37 remaining. A hot-shooting Knights team went
on a 12-2 run over the next 3:24 to take a 61-47 advantage on a
Bryce Pendleton free throw with 14:13 left.
From there, the Builders dug in defensively and started on their
23-7 streak. Two Nolan Thompson free throws and an Arrington
3-pointer cut the deficit to 61-52 at the 13:16 mark. The
lead stayed around 10 points for a couple minutes before an Antione
Paige tip-in and 3-pointer cut the deficit to 66-61 at the 10
minute mark. His five points began a 14-2 run for the
Builders which continued as an Eric Joe tip-in cut the deficit to
68-65 with 8:50 remaining. Eric Ruffin responded with a layup
off a Paige feed and a 3-pointer from the right corner to give the
Builders their first lead since 4-2 with 7:51 left and a 70-68
advantage.
Chris Pendleton's free throws tied the score at 70 with 7:40
left, before a Joe jumper and Ruffin layup put the Builders ahead
74-70 with 6:58 remaining for an advantage they held for the next
five minutes. Pendleton, who ended with a game-high 36
points, drained his fifth 3-pointer of the night to force an 85-all
tie at the 1:27 mark. The Builders closed the game with the
last eight points capped by a Ryan Davis 3-pointer at the buzzer
for the 93-85 win.
Apprentice School shot 39-of-76 from the floor (51.3%) while
holding the Knights to 25-of-54 (46.3%). The second half
proved the tale as the Builders were 21-of-40 from the floor
(52.5%) while the Knights were 10-of-26 (38.5%) after hitting
15-of-28 in the first half (53.6%). Another key statistic was
offensive rebounding as the Builders held a 20-7 advantage on the
offensive glass.
Ruffin was the leading scorer for the Builders with a season
high 24 points, while Paige added 15, Joe chipped in 12 points and
nine rebounds and Fred Spratley scored 11 points with eight
rebounds.
"The second half we had to really get after them and I thought
the guys did an outstanding job contesting their 3-pointers.
SVU didn't stop shooting the 3-pointer, but we were able to contest
and close out much better in the second half," said Apprentice
School coach Bill Tose. "Also Ryan Davis came in and gave us
solid minutes in crucial situations at the point guard which helped
us move Ruffin into a scoring role which got us going."
Next up for the Builders will be a rematch with Chowan
University on Thursday night at 7 pm at Apprentice Gym.
Chowan knocked off the Builders 85-74 on January 26 in
Murfreesboro, NC.
APPRENTICE SCHOOL 93, SOUTHERN VIRGINIA 85
SOUTHERN VIRGINIA (9-12): Borland 1-2 5-6 7, C. Pendleton 11-19
9-12 36, Holt 1-5 7-8 9, B. Pendleton 6-15 2-5 18, Johnson 4-7 1-1
9, Schroeder 1-3 0-0 3, Opeifa 1-1 1-2 3, Evans 0-2 0-0 0.
Totals 25-54 25-34 85.
APPRENTICE SCHOOL (13-10): Smith 3-5 0-1 6, Ruffin 11-15 1-2 24,
Paige 7-13 0-0 15, Arrington 3-7 0-0 7, Joe 5-10 2-6 12, Cherry 0-1
0-0 0, Spratley 4-8 3-5 11, Scott 0-0 2-2 -2, Davis 1-3 0-0 3,
Thompson 3-7 2-2 9, Archer 0-4 0-2 0, Washington 1-1 0-0 2, Johnson
1-2 0-0 2. Totals 39-76 10-20 93.
Halftime: SVU 47-39. 3-point goals: SVU 10-27 (C.
Pendleton 5-9, Holt 0-2, B. Pendleton 4-10, Johnson 0-3, Schroeder
1-2, Evans 0-1); Apprentice 5-20 (Ruffin 1-3, Paige 1-4, Arrington
1-5, Cherry 0-1, Davis 1-2, Thompson 1-4, Archer 0-1).
Rebounds: SVU 29 (Borland 9); Apprentice 45 (Joe 9). Total
fouls: SVU 18, Apprentice 24. Fouled out: Holt, Arrington,
Smith. Assists: SVU 16 (Holt 10); Apprentice 23 (Ruffin
5). Att.: 218.
