VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. -- The homestanding Virginia Wesleyan Marlins shot 60.6% from the field in the second half to pull away and defeat The Apprentice School 84-71 on Monday night at the Jane P. Batten Center.

Apprentice School held a 9-6 advantage at the 16:45 mark on an Eric Ruffin jumper, but that turned into the largest lead for the Builders.  The Marlins went on a 17-4 run over a 7:55 span to take a 23-13 lead on a Quinton McDuffie with 8:55 left.  The Builders made a push late in the half and cut the deficit to 33-27 on a Fred Spratley jumper with eight seconds left in the half.

In the second half, the hosts hit 20-of-33 from the floor (60.6%) and pushed the lead to as much as 21 points.

Eric Joe was the leading scorer for the Builders with 16 points, followed by Eric Ruffin with 14 points and the trio of Spratley, Jason Arrington and Trevor Jones added 13 apiece.

The Builders will turn around now and host NAIA Division II Bluefield College at 7 pm on Tuesday.  The Rams enter the game ranked 19^th nationally in NAIA.

VIRGINIA WESLEYAN 84, APPRENTICE SCHOOL 71
APPRENTICE SCHOOL (6-4)
Eric Joe 7-14 2-4 16; Eric Ruffin 7-14 0-4 14; Jason Arrington 2-2 8-11 13;
Trevor Jones 6-11 0-0 13; Fred Spratley 5-11 3-4 13; Stanford Johnson 1-5
0-0 2; Thomas Scott 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-58 13-23 71.
VIRGINIA WESLEYAN (5-5)
McDUFFIE, Quinton 13-19 5-6 31; DIXON, Terrell 4-8 3-4 14; FIELDS, Stephen
6-12 1-2 14; HASSELL, Norman 5-10 1-2 11; CARLTON, Julius 4-6 0-2 8;
MEREDITH, Paul 1-3 1-2 4; SIMMONS, Quantrell 1-4 0-0 2; GRANT, Ricky 0-3 0-0
0. Totals 34-65 11-18 84.
Apprentice School.............   27   44  -   71
Virginia Wesleyan.............   33   51  -   84
3-point goals--Apprentice School 2-6 (Trevor Jones 1-2; Jason Arrington 1-1;
Fred Spratley 0-2; Thomas Scott 0-1), Virginia Wesleyan 5-14 (DIXON, Terrell
3-5; MEREDITH, Paul 1-3; FIELDS, Stephen 1-3; HASSELL, Norman 0-3). Fouled
out--Apprentice School-Jason Arrington, Virginia Wesleyan-None.
Rebounds--Apprentice School 31 (Fred Spratley 8), Virginia Wesleyan 38
(FIELDS, Stephen 10). Assists--Apprentice School 8 (Eric Ruffin 6), Virginia
Wesleyan 19 (DIXON, Terrell 7). Total fouls--Apprentice School 18, Virginia
Wesleyan 13. Technical fouls--Apprentice School-None, Virginia
Wesleyan-None. A-480