NEWPORT NEWS - In a matchup of the preseason favorites to lead the New South Athletic Conference, it was the preseason No. 2 team of The Apprentice School men's basketball team taking down the favorites of Virginia Peninsula Community College, 62-46, Saturday afternoon in a packed Apprentice Athletic Center.

The Builders scored the first six points of the contest and jumped out to a 10-2 lead before the Gators settled in and clawed back into the contest, taking their first lead at 23-22 with over a minute left in the first half. Apprentice retook the lead at 26-23 going into halftime before taking over in the second half. 

The Builders never lost the lead in the second half, imposing fiery defense to stretch the lead out to 12 points in the first seven minutes of the second half. VPCC got no closer than eight points at any point after that as Apprentice improved to 6-0 in conference action.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Shawn Eley again led the Builders with a game-high 19 points, while Avin Hawkins added 13 off the bench.
• The Builders shot 41.2 percent from the floor compared to the 27.1 percent for VPCC.

NEXT UP

The Builders will travel to Christendom for another NSAC contest Friday at 7 p.m.