LEXINGTON, VA. - Senior Nolan Thompson scored a career-high 21
points to lead five in double figures for the Apprentice School as
they fell 112-96 at Virginia Military Institute on Monday night in
Cameron Hall.
The Keydets opened the game with a quick flurry attempting to
blow the Builders out of the gymnasium as they scored seven of the
first eight points to take a 7-1 advantage on Newport News native
Willie Bell's layup with 18:14 on the clock. Apprentice School
proved they were not going to be blown away as they outscored the
Keydets 12-5 over nearly the next three minutes to take its first
lead at 13-12 on a Jason Arrington stickback with 15:16 left.
Thompson, whose previous career-high was 16 points against
Central Maine earlier this season, came to life in a spell during
the first half. VMI (5-5) took a 24-23 lead with 10:37 left
on a Bell free throw before Thompson exploded for seven points in a
39 second span to take a 30-24 lead on a 3-pointer with 9:50
left. The Raleigh, NC native then had his second mini-run
scoring six points in 50 second to give the Builders their biggest
lead of the game at 42-34 on a layup.
VMI chipped away and took the lead for good on a Reggie Williams
dunk with 2:43 left for a 54-53 advantage. A layup from
Antione Paige brought the halftime deficit to 58-57.
In the second half, the Keydets raced out to a 73-66 advantage
on a Travis Holmes 3-pointer with 16:05 left. The Builders
cut the lead down to 77-74 on a Fred Spratley jumper at the 9:56
mark. That was the closest as the Builders got as the Keydets used
consecutive layups from Reggie Williams to push the lead to 89-78
with 6:28 left.
Apprentice School held its own with the highest scoring team in
NCAA Division I. Following Thompson's 21 was Eric Ruffin with
17, Arrington with 16, Paige and Eric Joe had 10 points each.
Fred Spratley was the leading rebounder in the game with a
career-high 13. The Builders out-rebounded the Keydets 42-35,
including a 19-8 advantage on the offensive boards. VMI was paced
by the nation's leading scorer in Williams who missed the school
single-game scoring record by one with his 43 points on the night.
Next up for the Builders will be a four-game swing through Florida
starting on Saturday night with a 7 pm matchup in Jacksonville
against NCAA Division II Flagler College.
VMI 112, APPRENTICE SCHOOL 96
APPRENTICE SCHOOL (6-5): Spratley 4-11 0-0 8, Washington 4-5 0-1
8, Ruffin 6-18 4-4 17, Paige 4-9 0-0 10, Arrington 5-12 3-6 16,
Smith 3-3 0-2 6, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Thompson 9-14 0-0 21, Joe 5-13
0-0 10. Totals 40-85 7-13 96.
VMI (5-5): Bell 4-5 1-2 9, Williams 17-22 9-10 43, Lonon 1-2 2-2
4, Holmes 9-16 10-16 30, Kenon 3-7 0-0 9, Brownfield 0-0 0-2 0,
Hunter 1-4 0-0 3, Tr. Holmes 3-9 7-7 14, Josey 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 38-65 29-39 112.
Halftime: VMI 58-57. 3-point goals: Apprentice 9-23
(Spratley 0-2, Ruffin 1-5, Paige 2-3, Arrington 3-6, Thompson 3-7);
VMI 7-20 (Williams 0-1, C. Holmes 2-6, Kenon 3-7, Hunter 1-3, Tr.
Holmes 1-3). Rebounds: Apprentice 42 (Spratley 13); VMI 35
(Williams, Tr. Holmes 10). Total fouls: Apprentice 27, VMI
15. Fouled out: Smith, Paige, Arrington. Assists:
Apprentice 19 (Arrington 6); VMI 15 (Williams, Lonon 4). Att.
712.
