NEWPORT NEWS, VA. – The Apprentice School men's basketball team rode a 35-point, 18-rebound, six steal performance from senior Isaih Harrison to lead three in double figures and snap a four-game losing skid on Monday night with a key 90-82 win over University of Maine-Fort Kent in a U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association matchup.
Apprentice School (15-9) entered the game ranked sixth in the coaches poll, while the visiting Bengals entered ranked eighth in the poll released prior to tip-off.
The hosts jumped out of the gate quickly racing out to a 10-2 lead on a Tevin Andrews layup with 17:50 left. Maine-Fort Kent (17-8) answered back scoring the next six points as a pair of Jeremy Thomas free throws cut the deficit to 10-8 at the 16 minute mark.
After trading buckets, the Builders erupted on a 15-4 run over a 5:05 span to take their largest lead of the first half as Lance Darden hit a free throw with 10:27 left to lead 27-14. The Bengals cut the lead to eight once, and a tip-in by Othinel Hyliger with 48 seconds left brought the visitors to 46-37 heading into halftime.
In the second half, the Builders opened up a 15-point lead on a tip-in from Harrison with 14:49 left to go up 57-42. UMFK would not fall away as they started to drain 3-pointers as Jeremy Thomas hit a pair in a three-possession span to cap a flurry that brought the Bengals to 63-57 with 12:08 left.
The lead eventually was whittled down to 76-75 with 5:52 left on a Hyliger jumper. That was as close as the Bengals got as the Builders used a 10-2 run over a 4:52 span to push the lead to 86-77 on a pair of Johnnie Ferebee free throws with 60 seconds left.
Andrews added 27 points and nine rebounds for the Builders, while Tim Johnson had 14 points and eight rebounds as the Builders used a 52-31 advantage on the boards, including 24-9 on the offensive glass, to outscore the Bengals 60-30 in the paint. Apprentice School was 37-of-78 from the floor (47.4%), 2-of-10 from 3-point range (20%) and 14-of-21 from the foul line (66.7%).
UMFK was topped by Thomas with 20 points, Manny Odugbela with 19 points, Hyliger and Pablo Llamas with 12 apiece. Hyliger was tops on the boards for UMFK with nine, while Llamas dished out five assists. The Bengals were 28-of-63 from the field (44.4%), 10-of-26 from 3-point range (38.5%) and 16-of-19 from the foul line (84.2%).
Apprentice School closes out its regular season on Sunday with Senior Day as they face Virginia University of Lynchburg at 4 pm. Harrison, Johnson, Lewis Archer and Joe Lyons will be honored in pre-game ceremonies as part of Senior Day. UMFK will travel to Buena Vista, Va. to face Southern Virginia University on Tuesday at 5 pm.
