NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Christopher Newport University Captains (7-3) exploded out of the halftime break to blow past Piedmont College (2-7) in the 2011 Captains Shootout today, winning by a 95-63 final. CNU opened the second half on a dominating 30-3 run over the first seven and a half minutes that broke the game wide open. The Captains finished with 62 second half points as four players finished in double figures, led by senior Conley Taylor with 24 points.

Piedmont actually held a two-point lead at halftime, 35-33, after shooting over 40% in the first half. The Lions were led by Tyler Arnold off the bench with nine points and four rebounds. The Piedmont defense forced just seven turnovers, but held CNU to just 31.3% shooting from the floor to hold the advantage at the break.

When the Captains emerged from the locker room in the second half, though, CNU took a firm hold on the game. After a Piedmont layup on the opening possession (19:47), the Captains held the Lions to just one point over the next 7:32. In that same span, CNU was on fire offensively, scoring 30 points to take a 65-38 lead with 12:27 remaining. The Captains were 12-for-14 in the run, including five three-pointers from four different players.

Rookie point guard Mike Cherry started the run with a three-pointer on the Captains first possession of the half. Luc Atangana knocked down his first trey next time down the floor to give CNU the lead for good. Sophomore Tra Benefield scored 10 points in the run as he surged to an 18-point performance on the night. Arnold finally ended the run with a mid-range jumper with 12:15 remaining, but the Captains lead was all but insurmountable at that point.

Taylor, the Captains leading scorer, and Benefield took control offensively in the second half, combining to go 9-for-17 from the field with 23 of CNU's 62 second-half points. Taylor finished with 24 points, eight rebounds and a pair of steals on the night. Benefield had 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Rounding out the double figure scoring for CNU was Cherry, with 10, and freshman big man Nik Biberaj with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Arnold finished with a team-high 18 points to lead the way for Piedmont, while also grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. Richarson Myrthil added 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

The hot second-half saw CNU finish at 53.7% shooting in the frame, raising their game percentage to 43.8% (32-73). The Lions finished at 36.4% (24-66) from the field and just 4-for-21 from long-range.

CNU will return to action in the Captains Shootout Championship Game on Friday night at 7:30 pm, as they will take on McDaniel College. The game will immediately follow the Consolation Game between Piedmont and Worcester State set for 5:30 pm.