NEWPORT NEWS, VA. - The visiting Bluefield Rams scored the last six points of the game in the final 60 seconds to pull away for a 96-90 victory over The Apprentice School on Tuesday night.
In a game that saw 13 ties and 13 lead changes, the Builders trailed 76-63 with 9:57 left on a Johnny Witherspoon jumper which capped off a 14-3 run over a nearly five minute span. Apprentice School went on a 15-2 run to tie the game at 78-all on an Eric Joe jumper off a feed from Eric Ruffin with 5:58 remaining.
The final six minutes saw the teams tied six times and neither team leading by more than two points until the final minute when the Rams, ranked 19th nationally in NAIA Division II, hit four foul shots and had a layup from Curtis Dixon to seal the win. From the foul line, the Rams hit 25-of-29 for the game and started the contest hitting their first 12 foul shots.
Joe scored a career high 30 points to lead five Builders in double figures. Seniors Fred Spratley and Stanford Johnson added 13 and 12 points respectively while Ruffin had 11 points and a career high 12 assists. Dixon paced Bluefield with 27 points, while Coryon Ross added 16 and Witherspoon had 13.
The Rams drained 11 3-pointers on the night and shot 46.9% from the field (30-of-64), while the Builders hit three 3-pointers and matched its season best hitting 52.2% from the floor (35-of-67).
Apprentice School will now travel to Irvine, California for the Surf City Classic hosted by Concordia University-Irvine on December 29-30. They'll face NCAA Division II Southwestern Oklahoma State on December 29 and then the host Concordia University squad on December 30. The hosts are ranked fourth in NAIA Division I.
#19 BLUEFIELD COLLEGE 96, APPRENTICE SCHOOL 90
BLUEFIELD COLLEGE (9-4)
Curtis Dixon 10-15 5-6 27; Coryon Ross 6-11 1-2 16; Johnny Witherspoon 4-8 4-4 13; Domenic Zaccaria 3-7 0-0 9; Omar Reed 2-4 5-6 9; Laron Culmer 2-4 3-3 7; James Childress, III 1-5 3-3 6; Keenan Rainer 2-3 1-2 6; Borgia M'Bala 0-3 3-3 3; Ted Oboute 0-2 0-0 0; Philip Frazier 0-1 0-0 0; D.J. Goshay 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-64 25-29 96.
APPRENTICE SCHOOL (6-5)
Eric Joe 13-18 4-9 30; Fred Spratley 6-13 1-2 13; Stanford Johnson 5-10 2-2 12; Jason Arrington 3-12 4-5 11; Eric Ruffin 4-9 2-2 11; Trevor Jones 2-3 4-6 8; Thomas Scott 2-2 0-0 5; Joseph Lyons 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-67 17-26 90.
Halftime-Apprentice 50-48. 3-point goals--Bluefield College 11-26 (Domenic Zaccaria 3-7; Coryon Ross 3-5; Curtis Dixon 2-6; Keenan Rainer 1-1; Johnny Witherspoon 1-3; James Childress, III 1-4), Apprentice School 3-8 (Eric Ruffin 1-1; Jason Arrington 1-4; Thomas Scott 1-1; Fred Spratley 0-2). Fouled out-Bluefield College-None, Apprentice School-None. Rebounds--Bluefield College 41 (Omar Reed 12), Apprentice School 34 (Eric Joe 12). Assists--Bluefield College 24 (Omar Reed 6), Apprentice School 27 (Eric Ruffin 12). Total fouls-Bluefield College 19, Apprentice School 21. Technical fouls--Bluefield College-None, Apprentice School-None.