UNIONTOWN, PA. – The Apprentice School men's basketball team made their first appearance in the U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Championships a great start as they knocked off third-seeded Lindenwood-Belleville 68-57 on Wednesday afternoon.

With the win, the Builders (17-9) now advance to face seventh-seeded Oakwood University who upset the defending USCAA Champions Southern Virginia University 63-53 on Friday afternoon at noon.

The game opened up as a tightly contested affair with four ties and six lead changes in the first 11 minutes.  A 3-point play from Larry Nussbaum with 10:11 left put the Lynx up 12-11.  Lance Darden's layup one minute later put the Builders up 13-12 and began a 14-4 run over the next six minutes to put Apprentice School up 25-16 on a free throw from Lewis Archer with 3:08 left.   Nussbaum closed the half on a dunk with 17 seconds left to bring the Lynx to 29-23 at the half.

In the second half, the Builders held a 32-27 lead on a free throw from Isaih Harrison with 16:50 left but the Lynx responded with an 11-2 run to take a 38-34 lead as Nick Souders drained a 3-pointer with 12:43 left.

Tevin Andrews responded with a 3-pointer which jumpstarted a 17-6 run for the Builders to take a 53-44 lead on a pair of Harrison free throws with 5:49 left.   Lindenwood-Belleville cut the lead down to 59-55 with 90 seconds left on a Matt Sturdivant dunk, but the Builders hit 5-of-6 from the line to help pull away for the 11-point win.

Andrews was the leading scorer for the Builders with 21 points and seven rebounds, while Harrison added 15 points and 12 boards.  Lavontae Thomas chipped in with 14 points and seven assists while Darden added 10 points for the Builders.  Todd Starks topped Lindenwood-Belleville with 18 points and was the lone double figure scorer for the Lynx.