CNU Captains calm, cool, collected

Mar 15, 2023

Collin Hines throws down a dunk in the closing seconds of the Elite Eight win against Wheaton (Ill.).
Photo by Dave Hilbert, d3photography.com

By Brian Lester
D3sports.com

A 24-point lead had almost entirely melted away, burned down to a single point with under five minutes to play in an NCAA Division III Elite Eight game Saturday night against Wheaton.

One year earlier, Christopher Newport’s men’s basketball team saw its dream of a title run end in an 81-79 national quarterfinal loss to Marietta on the road. The Captains had a 15-point lead in that game before coming up short.

Now, a year later, the Captains were back on the brink of the Final Four, and head coach John Krikorian had a message for his team during a timeout late in the action at the Freeman Center.

“In one of the huddles I told the guys to forget about what happened (with the lead). Here we are. Let’s finish it," said Krikorian, the D3hoops.com Region 6 Coach of the Year.

Fifth-year senior Matthew Brodie helped keep the team calm and cool during that crucial point in the game. He then went out and helped seal the deal, hitting four free throws in the final two minutes. His assist to Collin Hines on a dunk in the final seconds closed out a 76-70 victory.

“Matt really calmed everyone down with his play on both ends of the floor," Krikorian said. "He hit big free throws and put it away with a great pass to Collin. That is what it takes. One guy steps up, takes the lead and says follow me. That was Matt.”

Brodie, a role player at one time in his career with the Captains, is a full-time starter this season and has helped carry the program to its third national semifinal appearance in the last six tournament appearances.

In those moments where the pressure was rising on Saturday night against the Thunder, Brodie said he just went out and did his job. He scored 19 points, including six in the final two minutes of action.

“We had a really big lead and saw it shrink, but basketball is a game of runs,” Brodie said. “I don’t think I did anything I don’t normally do. I tried to keep my composure so everyone around me would do the same.”

Brodie and the Captains did not want to be denied this year. They remember that feeling of losing to the Pioneers last season and have been on a mission since.

“We left a lot on the court, and we know that,” Brodie said. It wasn’t how we wanted our season to end. It gave us a bunch of motivation for this year.”

Krikorian could see it in his team as it prepared for its 2022-23 campaign.

“It’s something they wanted very badly after losing in the Elite Eight last year,” Krikorian said. “But as you know, wanting to do it and doing it are two very different things.”

The Captains nearly saw their season end in round one of the NCAA Tournament against Farmingdale State. CNU trailed 32-22 at the half and was down by as many as 14 in the second half before rallying for a 61-60 win.

“We were dead to rights in the first round,” Krikorian said. “We survived and have been playing well since. We’re excited. We’re riding a pretty good high going in.”

Brodie said the team believing in itself is key.

“We know as a team what we are capable of doing,” Brodie said.

The Captains (28-3), winners of 13 consecutive games, face Swarthmore (28-3) Thursday in a national semifinal in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and this team is here, in part, because it overcame losing one of the best scorers in program history in Jason Aigner.

Aigner finished his career 11th all-time in scoring with 1,480 points, connecting on a school record 370 career 3-pointers.

“It took us time to adapt to life without Jason. But I think we found our own identity,” Krikorian said.

Brodie has been a big part of that identity. He started his career at James Madison before transferring in as a sophomore. He played in 11 games that season.

The pandemic year followed, and last season, Brodie became one of the Captains’ best weapons off the bench.

This season, he has started all 31 games, averaging 11.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game while making 57 3-pointers and racking up 25 steals and 18 blocks.

“He’s become a complete player and he plays with so much confidence,” Kirkorian said. “He doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be effective either. He can shoot the 3, he drives, he cuts well without the ball and he defends the other team’s best player most of the time. He’s a tough matchup.”

The Captains, of course, are hardly a one-man show. Jahn Hines leads the team in scoring at 17.1 points per game while tallying 31 steals. Trey Barber is putting up 12.8 points per game and is pulling down 7.9 rebounds per game. Three others (Ty Henderson, Rodney Graves and Ian Anderson) are averaging five or more points per game.

Hines and Barber are D3hoops.com All-Region picks.

What really drives this team, though, is something that doesn’t show up in a stat sheet.

“It’s their competitive drive,” Krikorian said. “It’s not always pretty and we don’t always execute flawlessly, but these guys are winners and they don’t quit. That’s what you need at this time of the year.”

Brodie said the team also shares a pretty close bond that translates to game day.

“We are so close on and off the court,” Brodie said. “So to be here with these guys, it means everything.”

The Captains hope to keep things going forward as they take aim at moving one step closer to achieving a goal they have had their sights set on all season.

“Since day one, we wanted to get to the Final Four. This is a big opportunity for us,” Brodie said. “We’re going to take everything in and enjoy it, but we have a goal we are trying to accomplish here.”

And Krikorian points out that his players aren’t satisfied with just being one of the last four D-III teams standing.

“This one feels different,” Krikorian said. “This group, since day one, really just wants to play. They love to play more than anything. They don’t want to do drills in practice. They want to get out there and play. They are locked in and can’t wait. They aren’t thinking about a tour of Fort Wayne right now."