FINAL SCORE: Apprentice School 81, Florida National University 76
RECORDS: Apprentice School 7-8; Florida National 11-8
EVENT: 2015 MLK Classic
LOCATION: Apprentice Athletic Center/Newport News, VA
IN BRIEF: A huge 23-4 run over an eight minute span of the second half helped propel the Builders to a win over Florida National University to close out the first night of the 2015 MLK Classic.
ON THE COURT
- The first nine minutes saw three runs where the opponent didn't score. Apprentice School, like its women's team did to start its game Friday night, opened with a 7-0 run over the first 61 seconds as a Tony Walton put the hosts up.
- Florida National responded with a 10-0 run over the next 3:07 to lead 10-7 on a dunk from Aldor Kola. The Builders answered with a 13-0 run over the ensuing 3:26 to lead 20-10 on a layup from Dante Johnson.
- The Conquistadors worked back into the contest and took a 31-29 lead on a John Hogan layup with 4:09 left. That stayed the margin through the end of the first half as a 3-pointer from Kola with 12 seconds left gave the visitors a 41-39 halftime advantage.
- In the second half, Florida National pushed the advantage to six points twice as a pair of Quantavis Hall free throws with 14:21 left put them up 55-49.
- From there, the Builders took charge and went on a 23-4 run to take a 72-59 lead on a pair of Jay Melendez free throws with 6:14 left.
- The guests had one more run in them going on a 16-5 run over the next 4:40 to get within two at 77-75 on a pair of Hall free throws with 1:34 left. Apprentice School had a layup from DeAndre Demiel and two Melendez free throws to hold off the Conquistadors for the win.
BEHIND THE BOXSCORE
- Melendez was the leading scorer for the Builders with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Jamal Curry added 15 points and 18 boards. Demiel scored a season-high 17 points and had five assists with only one turnover starting at the point guard spot tonight.
- The Builders held Florida National to 34.2% from the floor (25-of-73) with hitting 13-of-34 from 3-point range. FNU was topped by Regan O'Rourke who had 24 points going 6-for-13 from 3-point land. The six triples were the most by an opponent in the Apprentice Athletic Center and one off the facility record of seven by Melendez.
- Joining O'Rourke in double figures were Hall with 17 points and six assists, Kola with 14 points and nine boards along with Jarvis Davis with 10 points and seven rebounds.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
The new USCAA Division I Coaches Poll was released prior to the game Friday night and Florida National had jumped up three spots to sixth, while the Builders remained at 11th.
NEXT UP
The men will close out its MLK Classic games on Sunday at 2 pm when they face Williamson Trade. Florida National will take on the Mechanics on Saturday at 6 pm.
