AVE MARIA, FLA. – Junior Tevin Andrews started his 2012 with a game made for playing the lottery. The Brundidge, AL. native, who wears jersey number 34, played 34 minutes and scored a career-high 34 points as the Apprentice School opened the second half of its season with a 92-69 win over Vermont Tech in the Ave Maria/USCAA Classic on Friday.
The Builders (10-2) are ranked second in the U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Division I Coaches Poll, while the Knights (11-3) are ranked second in the USCAA Men's Division II Coaches Poll.
Apprentice School opened the game scoring 11 of the first 13 points to lead 11-2 on an Andrews jumper with 14:50 left. The lead grew to 11 points on a 3-pointer from Lance Darden for a 20-9 margin with 8:32 left. Vermont Tech went on an 11-2 run capped by a Tevon Erwin layup with 3:47 left to trim the deficit to 22-20. The Builders immediately followed with a 9-0 run over the next 1:58 as a 3-point play from Johnnie Ferebee gave the Builders a 31-20 lead. The Knights closed the half chopping the deficit in half as an Alex Tyrrell layup with 39 seconds left brought them to 32-27.
In the second half, the Knights stayed within reach in the first three minutes as a Tyrrell free throw made the score 42-36. The Builders put the game away with a 14-0 run over the next 4:30 as a Darden 3-pointer gave the Apprentice School a 56-36 advantage.
Andrews was 11-of-14 from the floor, set a career-high with a 5-for-5 3-point performance and broke a school record for 3-point percentage in a game, and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the foul line. His previous career-high was 31 against the University of the District of Columbia on Feb. 2, 2011.
As a team, the Builders rebounded from a cold first half to hit 23-of-37 (62.2%) from the floor in the final 20 minutes. From 3-point range they were 7-of-11 (63.6%) and 7-of-10 from the foul line (70%) to outscore the Knights 60-42. On the night they were 32-of-65 from the floor (49.2), 10-of-18 from 3-point range (55.6%) and 18-of-25 from the floor (72%). The 10 3-pointers were the most the Builders have hit in a game under second-year head coach Franklin Chatman.
Darden was next in line scoring for the Builders with 15 points, while Isaih Harrison had 13 to lead the Builders. Andrews and Ferebee shared the rebounding lead with eight and Ferebee dished out five assists. Kevin Carr topped Vermont Tech with 27 points, while Erwin had 19 and 10 rebounds.
Apprentice School now will face Valor Christian College, who is ranked tenth in the USCAA Men's Division II Coaches Poll on Friday afternoon at 3:30 pm.