Holiday scored 27 of his career-high 34 points in the first half, while Pender had 19 of his career-high 26 points in the second half for the Apprentice School (2-6).
The first half saw the Builders race out to a 9-2 lead in the first three minutes, but saw the Cougars storm back and tie the game at 15-all on a 3-point play by Andrew Boor with 12:54 left. The teams traded the lead four times and tied the game seven times in the first 20 minutes.
For an eight-minute stretch no one held more than a four-point advantage until the Builders used a pair of Holiday free throws and a jumper to close a brief six-point flurry to take a 42-36 advantage with 2:22 left. Averett responded with an 8-2 run to close the half as a Jeremy Haskins layup at the buzzer produced the seventh tie of the half at 44.
The second half started with Averett continuing its run with a Cameron Brown 3-pointer to take a 47-44 advantage, but the Builders then went on a 10-0 run over a 2 minute 46 second span as a fast break layup from Pender put the Builders up 54-47 with 16:55 left.
Averett had one last flurry in them as they cut that lead down to one on a fast break layup from Billy Gardner with 15:10 left for a 56-55 Builder lead.
That was as close as Averett (2-4) got as the Builders went 24-of-29 in the second half from the foul line and a modern day record 37-of-42 for the game. The Builders went 14-of-14 from the line in the last 5:33 with only a Holiday layup being the lone field goal in that span.
“The guys stepped up tonight after Averett took it to us out there and showed some signs of coming together,” said Apprentice School coach Bill Tose. Averett defeated the Builders 81-65 in Danville on November 30.
Averett was led by Billy Gardner who scored 14 points in 15 minutes of action. Cameron Brown added 12 points and Sterling Williams chipped in 10 points.
Apprentice School will hit the court again on Saturday with a matchup against Division II West Virginia State University at 1 p.m.
APPRENTICE SCHOOL 89, AVERETT 74 AVERETT (2-4): Haskins 2-10 3-5 7, Brown 3-8 4-4 12, S. Williams 3-13 2-2 10, Gregory 2-6 0-0 4, Boor 4-6 1-1 9, Hammond 3-9 0-0 8, McDaniel 1-2 0-0 2, C. Williams 3-10 0-0 8, Gardner 5-10 4-4 14. Totals 26-74 14-16 74. APPRENTICE (2-6): Holiday 12-16 8-9 34, Pender 6-10 13-15 26, Bryant 3-6 2-2 8, Dunston 1-7 8-10 10, Robinson 2-11 6-6 11, Gilchrist 0-1 0-0 0, Lockhart 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-51 37-42 89. Halftime: 44-44. 3-point goals: Averett 8-27 (Haskins 0-1, Brown 2-3, S. Williams 2-8, Gregory 0-1, Hammond 2-8, C. Williams 2-6); Apprentice 4-13 (Holiday 2-4, Pender 1-2, Dunston 0-5, Robinson 1-2). Rebounds: Apprentice 41 (Bryant 10); Averett 39 (Gardner 8). Total fouls: Averett 23, Apprentice 17. Fouled out: S. Williams, C. Williams. Assists: Averett 17 (C. Williams 5); Apprentice 11 (Holiday, Robinson 4). Techincal: Averett bench. Att.: 425.