NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Christopher Newport University (17-8, 9-3) closed the regular season with a 55-52 win over Greensboro College (11-14, 4-8) tonight, overcoming a poor shooting night with timely buckets and solid defense down the stretch. Junior Brian Herrmann led the way with 15 points, adding seven rebounds and senior Mike Green poured in 13 points in his final regular season home game.

The Captains will be the #3 seed in the upcoming USA South Conference Tournament, and are set to face off against the #6 seeded Shenandoah Hornets on Tuesday, February 22 at 7:30 pm. The game will follow immediately after the women's tournament game at 5:30 pm at the Freeman Center.

Greensboro raced out to a 10-point lead early, with a 14-4 edge with 11:40 remaining in the first half on a Lewis Owenby jumper. Neither team was shooting the ball well in the first, and the early edge quickly dwindled back to one as CNU scored the next nine points.

The score was just 20-17 at the break, as CNU shot just 23.1% on 6-of-26 shooting and Greensboro managed just 38.1% on 8-of-21 from the field. The two teams combined for 15 first half turnovers.

CNU took its first lead of the game at 32-31 with 10:26 remaining in the second half and hung on down the stretch for the 55-52 win. Junior point guard Hector Feliciano-Ayala was tremendous in a relief role as the Captains lost leading scorer Conley Taylor to injury midway through the second half. Feliciano-Ayala played just five minutes, but knocked down a huge running layup to put CNU back up by one, 41-40, with 5:45 remaining. He added a key assist to Jacob Capin two possessions later as CNU took a 44-40 lead.

Herrmann added a traditional three-point play to give the Captains a seven-point lead with under four minutes to go, but Greensboro kept fighting. The Pride cut the lead back to one, three times, answering each of the Captains offensive possessions. A big offensive rebound from rookie Tra Benefield and stickback gave CNU the late edge and Herrmann went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line to seal it for CNU.

Herrmann finished 11-for-12 from the charity stripe and led the Captains with 15 points in the game. Benefield was just shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds, while Green added 13 points and six boards.

CNU will now prepare for the USA South Conference Tournament, beginning this Tuesday night at the Freeman Center. CNU will host #6 seeded Shenandoah at 7:30 on Tuesday night. Live stats and video will be available at CNUsports.com.