FINAL SCORE: Johnson C. Smith 104, Apprentice School 88

RECORDS: Johnson C. Smith 3-1, Apprentice School 1-2

LOCATION: Brayboy Gym/Charlotte, N.C.

IN BRIEF: The score was close at the break, but the Golden Bulls pulled away with a 23-12 run to start the second half. William Wilcox paced the Builders with 18 points.

ON THE COURT

• The Golden Bulls opened the scoring with a pair of buckets, but a Zach Johnson layup and a Wilcox 3-pointer at 18:19 trimmed the Johnson C. Smith lead to 7-5. A 5-0 run by the Golden Bulls pushed their lead to 7, but Johnson would make both of his free throws to kick start an 8-0 run by the Builders. Christian Cooper hit a 3-pointer at 12:52 to cap off the run and give the Apprentice a 13-12 lead.
• A Joshua Linson 3-pointer put the Golden Bulls up 25-21, but Wilcox responded with his second 3-pointer of the game to pull within one. Johnson C. Smith then used a 16-3 run to go ahead 41-27 with 3:33 to play in the opening half.
• Wilcox netted 8 points in the final 2:35, making another 3-ponter and shooting 5-of-6 from the free-throw line to help cut into the Golden Bull lead. Michael Gainey added a 3-pointer of his own as the Builders went to the locker rooms trailing 47-42.
• Johnson C. Smith pushed its lead to 55-45 with a pair of Linson 3-pointers early in the second half. The Golden Bulls remained in control for the remainder of the game as they scored 57 points in the 2nd half. Stedmon Lemon scored 14 of his 20 points in the half to lead Johnson C. Smith.
• Johnson, Cameron Perry, and Cooper each scored 8 points to pace the Builders in the second half.

BEHIND THE BOXSCORE

• Four Builders scored in double figures, led by Wilcox with 18 points. Johnson was close behind with 15 points, followed by Cooper with 13 points and Perry with 11 points.
• Wilcox and Jalen Warren each came close to recording double-doubles. Wilcox was two boards why with 8 rebounds, while Warren netted 9 points and had 8 rebounds.
• The Apprentice School shot 34.3% (24-of-70) from the field, 45% (9-of-20) from beyond the arc, and 75.6% (31-of-41) from the charity stripe.
• The Builders outrebounded their opponents 53-40 and held the advantage in 2nd-chance points, 18-12.
• The Builders scored 36 points off of the bench.
• The game featured 1 tie and 8 lead changes.

NEXT UP

The Builders square off against Livingstone College (N.C.) Saturady at 2 p.m. The Blue Bears fell to Benedict College (S.C.) 59-45 in their opening round game of the Tournament.