FINAL SCORE: Apprentice School 96, Penn State Fayette 67

LOCATION: McKeesport, PA – Penn State Greater Allegheny Tip-off

RECORDS: Apprentice School 1-0; Penn State Fayette 0-1

ON THE COURT: The Apprentice School men's basketball team used a 16-2 run midway in the first half to get a working margin as they defeated Penn State Fayette 96-67 in the first round of the Penn State Greater Allegheny Tip-off on Friday afternoon.

With the win in the 2013-14 season opener, the Builders advance to face Southern State CC (OH) in a 5pm championship game.  Southern State defeated the hosts 92-76 in the nightcap at Wunderley Gymnasium.

The Roaring Lions jumped out to a 17-11 lead with 14:13 left on a jumper from Jacob Bronder.  That turned into the largest lead of the game for Fayette as the Builders took a lead for good on a Zach Zastrow 3-pointer for an 18-17 lead with 12:49 left in the first half.  A jumper from Johnnie Ferebee closed that run putting the Builders up 27-19 with 9:35 left.

Fayette trimmed the margin to 27-24 on a Derek Jones jumper with 7:57 left but the Builders responded with a 15-5 run over the next 3:41 to lead 42-29 on a 3-pointer from Latrone Demiel with 4:16 left.

In the second half, the Builders opened with another 15-5 run to take a 59-37 lead on a Ferebee layup with 15:46 left.  Demiel had a pair of 3-pointers to start the second half and shared game-high scoring honors for the Builders with Jay Melendez with 18 points each.  Darrell Fenton added 17 points and nine rebounds, while Ferebee had 11 points, eight assists and seven steals.

BUILDER BITS

• The 18 points from Demiel is a career-high topping his 16 point outing against Williamson Trade in the 2013 Martin Luther King Classic.
• The seven steals from Ferebee is a career-high topping his five steal outing done twice as a freshman against Ave Maria University and last year against Virginia University of Lynchburg.