FINAL SCORE: Virginia Wesleyan 87, Apprentice School 68
RECORDS: Virginia Wesleyan 2-0; Apprentice School 3-1
LOCATION: Batten Center/ Va. Beach, VA
EVENT: Marlin Tip-off

IN BRIEF: A balanced Virginia Wesleyan College squad pulled away in the second half to defeat The Apprentice School 87-68 on Sunday in the finals of the Marlin Tip-off.

ON THE COURT

• Johnnie Ferebee scored the first seven points for the Builders as his jumper with 17:13 left tied the game at 7-all.
• Over nearly the next five minutes, each team went on big runs as the Marlins scored 10 of the next 13 to lead 17-10 on a Khory Moore layup with 13:59 left.
• Apprentice School responded with a 13-3 run over the next 3:44 as a Jamal Curry jumper with 10:15 left put the Builders up 23-20.
• The largest lead of the night for the Builders was four points as a Jay Melendez jumper with 6:31 left put them up 27-23.  That was the last lead as the Marlins closed the half on a 15-3 run to go up 38-30 on a Moore 3-pointer with 41 seconds left.
• In the second half, the Builders got within four points twice as a Curry jumper with 18:11 left pulled them to 40-36.
• The Marlins pushed the advantage to 10 points on a Tim Jones 3-pointer with 15:24 left for a 48-38 lead.  It didnt get closer than six-points the rest of the game.

BEHIND THE BOXSCORE

• Ferebee was the leading scorer with a season-high 26 points, while Lavonte Thomas added 12 and Melendez chipped in 10 points for the Apprentice School.
• The Builders were 24-of-63 from the floor (38.1%), 4-of-17 from 3-point range (23.5%) and 16-of-22 from the foul line (72.7%) for the game.
• Moore was the leading scorer for VWC with 22 points, while Greg Montgomery added 19 and a game high 14 rebounds.   Cameron Owens chipped in 16 points and Tim Jones scored 12 as the Marlins were 28-of-71 from the floor (39.4%), 11-of-30 from 3-point range (36.7%) and 20-of-29 from the foul line (69%).
• Thomas and Melendez were All-Tournament selections.

NEXT UP
The Builders jump from a 19th-ranked NCAA Division III opponent, into a three-game stretch against NCAA Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association members.  Next Sunday, they'll visit Raleigh, NC to face Shaw University at 4 pm.