NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Sophomore Isaih Harrison scored 24 points and hauled in 11 rebounds as the Apprentice School men knocked off previously undefeated Francis Marion University 72-67 in overtime in the home opener on Tuesday night.
The win raised the men's record to 4-0 and extended its winning streak to nine in a row dating back to February. Those nine wins in a row match the longest winning streak in the men's program in the last 20 years. That also was the first win over Francis Marion University in five tries.
Francis Marion opened the game scoring the first seven points as a Simel Boyd tip-in at the 17:10 mark for a 7-0 lead. The Builders quickly responded and tied the game 7-all on a steal and layup from freshman Andre Henderson with 15:38 left.
The lead stayed within three points for the next as the Builders took their first lead 13-12 on a Tim Johnson layup with 10:07 left. Francis Marion then went on a 15-3 run over the next 5:28 to take a 27-16 lead on a 3-pointer from Edward Gullatte with 4:39 remaining. The visitors took a double-digit lead into the locker room as Henderson hit a free throw with seven seconds left to cut the lead to 31-21 at the break.
In the second half Francis Marion slowly worked the lead up to 14 points with 13:52 left as a Kendrick Robinson 3-pointer gave the Patriots a 45-31 advantage. From there the Builders turned up the defensive pressure and started a furious comeback.
A Chris Hearn jumper 85 seconds later cut the lead to single-digits at 45-37. Francis Marion pushed the lead back to 51-41 on a layup from Bryant Julious with 9:43 remaining. Over nearly the next six minutes the Builders used a 17-2 run to take a 58-53 lead on a Henderson layup with 3:59 remaining. Eric Joe's layup with 5:02 left gave the Builders their first lead at 54-53 since the first half.
It became a little wacky in the last 40 seconds as a Henderson free throw gave the Builders a 60-56 advantage. FMU's Herman Mains drained a 3-pointer and was fouled with 35 seconds left for a four-point play to tie the game and eventually force overtime.
In the extra-session the Builders jumped out to a 63-60 lead on a free throw from Joe with 3:23 left. The Patriots stormed back and scored the next seven points to take a 67-63 lead with 1:57 left on a Julious steal and layup. That turned out to be the final points of the night for Francis Marion as the Builders took the lead for good on a pair of Harrison free throws with 1:32 left for a 68-67 lead. Two Hearn free throws with one second left iced the 72-67 win for Apprentice School.
The Builders were aided in their comeback by a blistering 70.8% field goal percentage in the second half of regulation as they connected on 17-of-24 shots. For the game they hit 50.9% from the floor (28-of-55) and outrebounded the Patriots 47-29.
Henderson added 17 points and five steals for the Builders, whole Joe chipped in 13 points and Heard added 12 and eight boards. Francis Marion was headed by Kaylan Anderson with 14 points and Mains with 10.
These teams will meet again on December 5 in Florence, S.C. The Builders now visit Pembroke, N.C. to face UNC Pembroke on Saturday at 4 pm.