Alexandria, VA – On Saturday night, the Apprentice School Men's Basketball team faced Washington Adventist in the Big Bob 55 Classic.  The game was held at Bishop Ireton High School and was the final game of the day that saw several high schools showcased.  However, when it came time for tip-off, the Builders were ready to take the stage and were looking to even their season record at .500

The first half saw the Shock jump out to a 4-0 lead, but Apprentice answered back with four straight points from Karree Smith and then a layup by Marion Moore.  The pair would each score again to put the Builders in front with 14:57 left in the half, 11-8.  A Caleb Mielewski layup gave Apprentice the 5-point lead and that was followed by another Karree Smith FG to increase the lead to 15-8.  However, Washington Adventist would get themselves back in the game by going on an 8-0 run and regain the advantage, 16-15.  On the offensive side of the court Clifton Goode, Amari Aklin and Karree Smith connected on three straight scoring opportunities to put the Builders back out in front, by a score of 21-18.  The next six minutes would be a back-and-forth affair, with both teams exchanging baskets, until Xavien Hunter, who was playing in his first game of the season, got hot and put Apprentice up 30-24.  The Shock would, once again, tie the game but a 3-point play by Corey Turner allowed the Builders to eventually go into the half with the lead, 33-32.

Washington Adventist started the second half with a 10-0 run and suddenly Apprentice fell behind, 42-33.  Karree Smith took a pass from Avin Hawkins to stop the run and then after 2 free throws from Hawkins, and a layup from Karree Smith, the Shock's lead was cut in half.  On the next play, Hawkins would score again to pull the Builders to within 3 points, 44-41.  However, Washington Adventist was able to go back up by 7 points and for the next few minutes Apprentice could not get any closer than six, until Karree Smith stole the ball and took it the length of the court for a fastbreak dunk.  Unfortunately, that is as close as the Builders could get and as the horn sounded to end the game, they would fall to the Shock by a final score of 66-55.

Apprentice was led by Karree Smith who finished the game with 18 points, 5 rebounds, a steal and 2 assists.  Marion Moore had 11 points on the night, while also grabbing a game high 15 rebounds (5 Offensive and 10 Defensive).  The Builders will be back in action on Tuesday as they head down Route 17 to Elizabeth City, NC to take on the Vikings of Elizabeth City Sate University.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00pm.