Newport News, Va. – Freshman Dajer Muldrow (Jersey City, NJ, Trenton Catholic HS,) scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed a career and team-best seven rebounds, but the Cheyney men's basketball team was unable to overcome a four-minute drought in the first half, when the host Newport News Apprentice School scored 13 straight points, and ultimately came away with a 65-53 victory inside the Apprentice Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon.

Cheyney (2-6) freshman Jalen Boyd-Savage (Pennsauken, NJ, Paul VI HS ) scored a game-high 26 points to lead all scorers, but the Builders used a 20-10 advantage from the free-throw line and a 46-27 edge on the glass, to come away with its third win of the season and even its record at 3-3.

The game was tight through the first 12 minutes of the first half, with the largest lead being only six points. The Wolves took an early lead as freshman Rynell Bert (Baltimore, MD, St. Frances Academy HS,) connected on a three-pointer to give the Wolves a 5-4 lead, and Boyd-Savage made back-to-back layups with assists from classmate Joshua Blackmon (Clinton, MD, Fairmont Heights HS) to put Cheyney back ahead 11-10 with 13-21 to play in the first half.

A seven-point run put the Builders up 17-11, an old-fashioned three-point play form Boyd-Savage pulled Cheyney within three at 17-14 at the 9:08 mark. The Wolves stayed close with a jumper from Boyd-Savage and a Muldrow layup off an assist from Blackmon made it 23-19 with 6:52 to go in the first.

Apprentice would then score the next 13 points to build a 36-19 lead, Muldrow ended the drought and scored the final four-points for Cheyney as the Builders took a 37-23 lead after 20 minutes. The three-pointer from Bert was the Wolves only connection from beyond the arc, finishing 1-12 in the first half and 1-18 on the night.

The teams traded baskets and the Wolves closed to within nine points several times during the first 10 minutes of the second stanza. 

The lead was at 53-39, with 9:28 to play, when Muldrow went on a personal six-point run to pull Cheyney within eight. It started with a dunk off a pass from Bert, two free-throws and a Muldrow steal and jumper with an assist from Boyd-Savage, to make it 53-45 with 8:31 remaining. The Builders responded with five straight and the Wolves could not get any closer than nine the rest of the way.

Muldrow, who shot 8 of 12 from the field and Boyd-Savage, who was 11 for 25, combined for 19 of the Wolves 21 made field goals during the game, and eight of its 10 made free-throws.

Cheyney will host the rematch in two weeks, on December 17, at 3 PM

The Wolves are back in action next Saturday, December 10, as they host Holy Family University with the tipoff scheduled for 3 PM inside Cope Hall.