NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Top-seeded Christopher Newport (22-4) dominated the second half in tonight's USA South Semifinal Round, blowing past the fifth-seeded Methodist Monarchs (9-18), 97-62. CNU outscored MU 59-29 in the second half, shooting 69% from the field and 82% from three-point land.

Christopher Newport spun a five-point halftime lead, 38-33, into a 35-point victory with a dominant second half run. CNU used a 25-2 surge in the middle of the stanza to pull ahead by 27 points, 74-47.

The Captains were 10-of-12 in the run, including five three-pointers. Senior Jacob Capin hit a trey with 14:45 remaining to kick off the run and junior Paul Meredith snuck a tough layup past the outstretched hands of Jake McSwain to finish it out.

James Whitehead hit a three for Methodist on their next possession, but CNU extended the run to 32-5 on a Mike Cherry jumper from just inside the arc.

CNU was especially deadly from three-point land in the game, knocking down 58.6% of their attempts. For the second time this season, the Captains tied the school record for three-pointers in a game, hitting 17 of the team's 29 attempts.

Senior Conley Taylor led the way, hitting 5-of-6 attempts from long range, while Capin was 4-for-5 in just his second game back from injury. Tra Benefield and Mike Cherry each had three triples in the game.

Taylor had 18 second-half points to finish with a game-high 27 on 11-of-16 shooting. He also grabbed eight rebounds and had two assists. Freshman Nik Biberaj posted a double-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds, while also swatting five shots in the win. Five Captains finished in double figures, with Benefield (13), Capin (12) and Cherry (11) joining Taylor and Biberaj.

The second half effort (20-29 for 69%) helped lift CNU's overall numbers from the field to 53% on 35-66 shooting. The Captains defense held Methodist to just 31.9% from the field on 23-72.

The Monarchs had three players in double figures, with Whitehead scoring a team-high 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Brian Hockaday had 12 points and seven rebounds and Mark Jernigan finished with 11 points and five boards.

CNU will host the USA South Championship Game against #3 Greensboro College on Sunday, February 26 at 2:00 pm. Live stats and a live video webcast will be available at CNUsports.com