NEWPORT NEWS, VA. - The homestanding Apprentice School outscored Chowan University 19-9 in the last seven minutes, but it was too little too late as the Hawks escaped with a 74-70 victory on Tuesday night.
A nip and tuck first half saw the lead change hands seven times. Chowan (8-6) used a 9-0 run over a 2:42 span early in the half to take a 14-8 advantage on a Mark Brown jumper with 14:16 left. The Builders worked their way back into the game and used a 10-3 run over a nearly five minute span to take a 21-20 lead on a Jason Arrington 3-pointer with 7:52 left.
That turned out to be the last lead of the night for the builders as Chowan used an 8-1 run over a two-minute span for a 28-22 lead on a Charles Rhodes layup with 5:52 left. Apprentice School cut it to one on two occasions in the last 5:52, but a Layth Mansour jumper with 58 seconds left gave the Hawks a 36-33 halftime lead.
In the second half, Chowan broke the game open with a 12-2 run over a five minute span to take a 61-49 advantage on a Jaleel Nelson layup with 8:51 left. The lead grew to 14 points before the Builders started a comeback.
The Builders scored eight straight points to chop the deficit to 65-59 on a pair of Arrington 3-pointers. Chowan pushed the lead back to 11 on a 73-62 on a pair of Nate Walchuk free throws with 35 seconds. Apprentice School scored eight of the last nine points, using a 3-pointer from Adrian Brewer at the buzzer to make it a 74-70 game.
Senior Eric Ruffin had a game-high 20 points with seven rebounds and six assists to lead the Builders. Arrington had 15 points and six assists as well. Mansour scored 17 points and hauled 12 rebounds to lead four Hawks in double figures.
Chowan hit 52.6% from the floor (30-of-57), including hitting 15-of-27 from the floor in the second half (55.6%). Apprentice School was 26-of-60 from the floor (43.3%) and was 7-of-14 from 3-point range.
The Builders return to action on Thursday night at 6 pm hosting the University of District of Columbia (4-10).
CHOWAN 74, APPRENTICE SCHOOL 70
CHOWAN (8-5): Mansour, Layth 8-11 1-2 17; Brown, Mark 6-13 2-4 14; Rhodes, Charles 6-10 0-0 13; Scott, Aaron 4-9 2-2 11; Nelson, Jaleel 3-4 1-2 8; Walchuk, Nate 2- 6 3-4 8; Kenon, Chris 1-2 0-0 3; Morrison, Lando 0-1 0-0 0; Brice, Joe 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-57 9-14 74.
APPRENTICE SCHOOL (7-9): Eric Ruffin 8-14 2-2 20; Jason Arrington 4-8 5-7 15; Eric Joe 4-9 1-5 9; Isaih Harrison 4-7 0-0 8; Fred Spratley 2-8 2-3 7; Adrian Brewer 2-6 0-0 6; Arbry Butler 1-6 1-2 3; Stanford Johnson 1-1 0-1 2; Trevor Jones 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-60 11-20 70.
Halftime-Chowan 36-33. 3-point goals--Chowan 5-19 (Nelson, Jaleel 1-2; Scott, Aaron 1-4; Rhodes, Charles 1-4; Kenon, Chris 1-2; Walchuk, Nate 1-4; Brice, Joe 0-1; Brown, Mark 0-2), Apprentice School 7-14 (Adrian Brewer 2-6; Jason Arrington 2-2; Eric Ruffin 2-3; Fred Spratley 1-2; Eric Joe 0-1). Fouled out--Chowan-None, Apprentice School-None. Rebounds--Chowan 35 (Mansour, Layth 12), Apprentice School 37 (Eric Ruffin 7). Assists--Chowan 19 (Nelson, Jaleel 6), Apprentice School 18 (Jason Arrington 6; Eric Ruffin 6). Total fouls--Chowan 14, Apprentice School 14. Technical fouls--Chowan-None, Apprentice School-None.