NEWPORT NEWS, VA. – Sophomore Johnnie Ferebee scored 20 of his career-high 29 points in the first half as the Apprentice School knocked off #23-Va. Wesleyan College 100-89 on Wednesday night at the Apprentice Athletic Center.
That marked the first win for the Builders over a team ranked in the D3hoops.com Top 25 since the last time the Builders defeated Virginia Wesleyan. That was on Dec. 8, 2007 by a 76-75 count in the Batten Center on the Marlin campus. The 100-points were also the first time the Apprentice School cracked the century mark against Virginia Wesleyan.
The Marlins held an advantage for most of the first half going on a 12-2 run over a four minute span to take a 21-12 lead on a Sedric Nady jumper with 13:07 left. The Builders responded with a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 23-22 on a Ferebee layup at the 10:47 mark.
VWC pushed the lead back to seven points on a Chris Astorga 3-pointer with 8:01 left for a 36-29 lead. Apprentice School worked its way back into the game and tied the contest at 41-all with 2:55 left on a Ferebee layup. That layup started a 10-5 flurry to close the half as a Lance Darden jumper from the foul line just beat the halftime horn for a 51-46 Builder lead.
In the second half, the Builders pushed their advantage to 60-51 on a short jumper by Ferebee with 15:52 left. VWC had one more run in them as they outscored the Builders 13-3 over the next 3:08 to lead 64-63 on a Nady 3-pointer with 12:44 remaining.
The Builders responded with a 9-0 run over the next 2:39 to lead 72-64 on a Jay Melendez jumper with 10:05 left. From there, VWC got as close as three points twice with a DJ Woodmore dunk with 6:20 left cutting the margin to 80-77 with 6:20 left. The Builders hit 7-of-10 from the foul line in the final 92 seconds to ice the win.
Joining Ferebee in double figures were junior Terrence Palmer with 14 points and six rebounds and sophomore Lavontae Thomas with 13 points and seven assists. The Builders hit 31-of-69 from the field (44.9%), 9-of-20 from 3-point range (45%) and 29-of-37 from the foul line (78.4%). Apprentice School out-rebounded the Marlins 49-39 as Melendez shared game-high honors leading the Builders with 12.
Astorga topped the Marlins with a game-high 32 points and shared rebounding honors on the night with 12. Tre' Ford had 16 points and four assists, while Woodmore added 14 points and nine rebounds. VWC (7-4) was 34-of-72 from the floor (47.2%), 9-of-23 from 3-point range (39.1%) and 12-of-21 from the foul line (57.1%). Both teams committed 16 turnovers.
Apprentice School (10-5) now is off until Jan. 12 when they go to Takoma Park, Md. to face NCAA Division II Washington Adventist University at 7 pm in a U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association matchup.
