PETERSBURG, Va. - The Apprentice School men's basketball team survived an upset scare Monday afternoon, defeating MUW, 73-67, in the opening round of the 2023 USCAA National Championship.

The Builders didn't take a lead in the contest until the 1:01 mark in the first half after the Owls jumped out to a quick 10-3 lead early on. After going back-and-forth to end the half and start the second, Apprentice built a nine point lead midway through the second half and were able to keep the Owls at arms length the rest of the night to advance to the semifinals.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The win marks the first win in the opening round for the Builders since 2014 when Apprentice beat Rochester.
• Shawn Eley and Adrion Wall led the Builders with 14 points each, while Chris Himmon and Jayden Eason each had 11.

NEXT UP

The Builders will take on Bryant & Stratton (Buffalo) on Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. The game will be played at Virginia State.