Benefield set career-best marks for scoring with 31 points and rebounds with 12, while finishing at nearly 64% from the field on 14-of-22 shooting. Senior Mike Green chipped in a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds and Brian Herrmann came off the bench to score 12 in relief.

The game was the first for CNU without USA South leading scorer Conley Taylor, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the final regular season game of the season.

Shenandoah battled hard in the first half, and took a two-point lead into the break. The Hornets were up 33-31, led by Avery Green's 11 points. Shenandoah shot 37.1% from the field in the first half while the Captains were at 43.5%, but the Hornets had 12 more field goal attempts.

Benefield was held to just four points and one rebound in the first half as the Captains hung with Shenandoah behind Green's nine points and five rebounds. Seven Captains were in the scorebook with at least three points in the first half.

In the second half, the freshman caught fire early and lifted CNU to a quick lead that they would never relinquish. Benefield scored 10 of the first 15 Captains points in the second half as CNU opened up a double-digit lead just 4:28 into the half. The lead would grow to as many as 24 on a tip-in from Benefield with 8:16 remaining, putting the score at 69-45.

Sophomore point guard Paul Meredith facilitated the offense, dishing out nine assists and scoring eight points in the game, while back-up point Hector Feliciano-Ayala managed six points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in just 13 minutes of action for CNU.

Shenandoah caught fire from long-range in the waning minutes, but the lead was too big and the Captains iced the win to advance in the USA South Tournament. The Hornets finished with 11 three-pointers in the game, knocking down 42.3% from long-range, but managed just 13 field goals inside the arc. Four players were in double figures for the road team and Kevin Kline was just shy with eight points and eight rebounds.

For the Captains, Benefield's career night came with just one three-pointer and two free-throws. Green was 7-of-8 from the charity stripe to help tally his 15 points and Herrmann added a 5-of-6 night on freebies en route to 12 points. CNU shot 46.2% from the field and were 20-of-25 from the free-throw line.

Christopher Newport advances to face #2 seeded Ferrum on the road this Friday night at 7:00 pm. The Captains dropped Ferrum at home and pushed the Panthers to overtime on the road, but fell in extra time in Ferrum. The game will be available on the CNU/Pepsi Radio Network on Xtra 99.1 FM and will also be webcast live on CNUsports.com.