NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Sophomore Mike Cherry scored a game-high 26 points, none of which were more important than a teardrop jumper from the elbow with 3.5 seconds remaining to give the Captains an 85-84 win over John Carroll University (2-2) on Saturday. Cherry was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2012 CNU/Point Plaza Invitational as he led Christopher Newport (4-0) to a pair of wins for the tournament title. 

The Captains led by as many as 12 in the second half, but a late rally from the Blue Streaks gave the visiting team their first lead in nearly 17 minutes with 13.3 seconds showing on the clock. The Captains led by 10, 72-62 with 7:29 remaining, but over the next six minutes, the Blue Streaks surged with a 20-11 run to trail just one, 83-82, on a layup by David Hendrickson. Then, after a pair of CNU turnovers, Kyle Hubbard gave John Carroll the lead, 84-83 with just moments remaining.

The Captains turned to their sophomore leader, Cherry, for the last shot. He got the ball on the inbounds play, dribbled up court and after a screen at the top of the key pushed into the arc and took a high-arcing shot from the elbow over the outstretched arms of Hendrickson. The shot dropped with 3.5 seconds left, and the Blue Streaks were unable to convert as CNU held on for the win.

The jumper was one of only two shots made inside the arc by Cherry, who knocked down an impressive 6-of-8 three-pointers in the game, and was also a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. He finished with a game-high 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while adding four assists and a pair of steals. 

Both teams shot the ball extremely well in the game, knocking down 49.2% of their shots. CNU dropped 29-of-59, while the Blue Streaks were 30-of-61 from the field. John Carroll used a potent long-range attack, knocking down 12 trey's on 42.9% shooting, while CNU scored 40 of its points from inside the paint.

The Captains took a 44-42 halftime edge in the back-and-forth affair. The game featured 12 ties and 11 lead changes as both teams failed to separate in the contest. Both teams also took care of the ball, with just 28 combined turnovers, and defended well, with six steals each and seven combined blocks.

Joining Cherry on the All-Tournament team was sophomore Nik Biberaj, who added 19 points and six rebounds for CNU. Junior leading scorer Tra Benefield finished just shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.

John Carroll three-point specialist Danny Wallack (18 pts, 4 3pm) and big man Kyle Hubbard (13 pts on 5-of-6 shooting) also were named to the All-Tournament team, and Birmingham-Southern's Kyle Kegarise rounded out the squad after leading the Panthers to a 65-57 win over Wesley College in the consolation game. 

After making history with a quadruple overtime game on Saturday, CNU improved to 4-0 with the one-point win, the first victory in a one-point game since 2009. It is the first time CNU has started the year 4-0 since 2004. 

Christopher Newport will now hit the road for their conference opener next Saturday, December 1, as they face a stiff challenge at Maryville College at 2:00 pm. The Fighting Scots are 2-2 to start the season.