NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - York College shot 56.6 percent from the field Saturday afternoon as the 12th-ranked Spartans held off Christopher Newport, 82-73, in the title game of the Capital Athletic Conference post-season tournament. The defeat at the Freeman Center ended CNU's five-game winning streak and halted CNU's string of back-to-back conference titles in 2016 and 2017.

York, now 23-4, will advance to the Division III NCAA Championship with the CAC's automatic bid. The Captains, 21-6, will await word on a possible at-large selection to the tournament when the bracket is released Monday afternoon.

"York is a really good team and they played a great game today," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "We battled and gave them a good fight, they were just a little better than we were."

York took two of three meetings with the Captains this season, as each team had won on its home floor during the regular season. The Spartans made 28 of 50 shots Saturday against CNU's stingy defense, which is ninth in the nation in field goal percentage defense. The Spartans are the only team to shoot better than 50 percent from the field this season against the Captains, and they did it in both of their victories over CNU.

Senior big man Blayde Reich led the way for the Spartans, scoring 25 points, with 16 coming in the opening half. All five starters for the Spartans ended up in double figures. CNU was led by freshman Brock Geiman, who posted a career-high 21 points with 18 coming in the second half.

"Brock has worked hard all season and today he really stepped up for us in the second half," Krikorian continued. "We have a great group of talented players, and they know that the time will come for them to be called on."

The Spartans opened a lead of 12 in the opening half and were ahead at halftime, 35-26. CNU battled back by out-scoring York, 23-11, in the first eight and a half minutes of the second. The Captains never led by more than three, and York responded by breaking a 57-57 tied with an 8-0 run and never looked back, cruising to the eventual nine-point triumph.

Senior Aaron McFarland finished with 15 points for the Captains and sophomore Cutch Ellis added 11. Sophomore Nick Parks, again starting in place of injured sophomore Luther Gibbs, posted a team-high ten rebounds. 

York got 16 points from junior Jason Bady, who played all 40 minutes, as well as 13 from senior Matt Scamuffo. Sophomore Jared Wagner (11) and senior Dalton Myers (10) were also in double figures for Matt Hunter's squad. York will be heading to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012, and for the first time in Hunter's six-year tenure.

The Captains shot just 43.3 percent for the day (26 of 60) and knocked down nine three-pointers in 25 attempts. CNU held a slim edge on the boards, 32-31, while York out-scored CNU in the paint, 46-30. The Spartans also converted 16 of 22 foul shots for 72.7 percent free throw shooting for the day.

Christopher Newport has advanced to the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons, advancing all the way to the Final Four two years ago and last year to the Sweet 16. CNU is looking for its 22nd all-time trip to the NCAA Tournament, and the bracket will be announced Monday at 12:30 p.m.

Saturday's game marked the fifth straight CAC title game for the Captains since joining the league. CNU is now 2-3 in conference championship games, and now holds a 10-3 lead in the all-time series with York.

Further details on the NCAA Tournament will be available on CNUsports.com Monday afternoon following the release of the NCAA bracket.