Builders edge Knights in final minute

LAURINBURG, N.C.—Knights’ junior Antonio Moffitt (Raleigh, N.C.) tied the game with a layup with 51 seconds left but junior center Tim Johnson (Little Rock, Ark.) answered with his own layup just 10 seconds later to lead Apprentice School to an 82-78 victory over host St. Andrews Presbyterian College on Monday evening.

Moffitt had another chance to tie the game up when he was fouled with 21.9 ticks to go but he missed the second attempt to keep the visitors ahead by one. SAPC was forced to foul and junior Joe Lyons (Colonial Heights, Va.) made both freebees with 16.1 left. Junior Ryan Streater (Charlotte, N.C.) took a potential game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds for the Knights but his attempt came off the front iron and sophomore Tevin Andrews (Brundidge, Ala.) seized the clutch defensive rebound. After missing the first free throw on the ensuing play, Andrews sealed the Apprentice School’s victory by making the back end with exactly three seconds left to increase the Builders lead to two possessions.

Junior Aaron Christian (New Bedford, Mass.) led the Knights offensively with 25 points and nine assists. Christian was 11-for-13 from the charity stripe and he made a game-high four 3-pointers. Senior Marvin Jackson (Gloucester, Va.) followed with his first double-double of the season. Jackson netted 23 points and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds before fouling out. Jackson committed all five of his fouls in the second half.

Apprentice had five players reach four fouls but nobody fouled out. SAPC had both of its seniors – Jackson and Marcus Connor (Charlotte, N.C.) – foul out. The Builders scored their last four field goals from inside the paint after Connor, who had a staggering season-high 10 blocks, recorded his fifth foul with 6:28 on the clock.

The Builders (4-2) received a game-high 26 points out from Johnson on 11-of-16 accuracy. Johnson just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Junior Isaih Harrison (Abbeville, La.) bucketed 14 points and hauled in an impressive 19 boards as Apprentice dominated the backboards 55-39. Andrews swished 14 points and sophomore Henry Henderson (Lancaster, Va.) chipped in 12.

The game remained close throughout with Apprentice grabbing the biggest lead of the contest at eight (14-6) early. The battle consisted of 12 ties and 16 lead changes. The Builders clung to a 37-36 advantage at halftime.

Apprentice (43.4%) had a better shooting performance than St. Andrews (34.9%) but the Builders only made 1-of-13 (7.7%) three-pointers compared to 9-of-27 (33.3%) by the Knights.

Streater scored 10 points for SAPC while freshman Darian Cahill (Goldsboro, N.C.) swished all nine of his points on a trio of made shots from behind the arc.

St. Andrews will begin Conference Carolinas when the Knights visit Limestone College (Gaffney, S.C.) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.