NEWPORT NEWS, Va.- After leading by seven at the half Saturday, the Captains of Christopher Newport out-scored Methodist 41-27 in the second half to break open the game...and defeated the Monarchs, 78-57. The win for CNU was its fourth straight, and the Captains improved to 15-2 overall and 8-1 atop the USA South Athletic Conference.

"We challenged our guys at halftime," Head Coach John Krikorian said following the win. "We had only out-rebounded them by two in the first half and we really came out and controlled the boards in the second half."

Christopher Newport ended up with a 47-27 advantage on the boards, including a 15-8 edge on the offensive glass.

Junior Tre Benefield led the way, scoring 25 points and pulling down a career-high 15 rebounds. Benefield has now scored 1,137 career points and jumped into 17th place on the CNU all-time scoring list.

CNU held a 37-30 advantage at the intermission following a spirited first half. Benefield took over in the second half by netting 16 of his 25 points in the final 20 minutes.

"It's scary how much Tre has added to his game this season," Krikorian continued. "He's been there for us night after night...his consistency has been outstanding."

Christopher Newport sophomore Mike Cherry (14 points) and freshman Evan Thorpe (13 points) were also in double digits. Sophomore Nik Biberaj finished with 11 rebounds.

The Captains shot 49 percent from the field for the game, and held the Monarchs to just 35 percent shooting.

The Monarchs were led by junior Bryan Hockaday's 11 points. Hockaday fouled out with 7:54 to play and did not score in the second half.

Methodist falls to 7-10 on the year and 4-4 in the USA South.

CNU is now 15-2 overall and 8-1 atop the conference. The Captains are off until next Saturday (2/2) when they host Greensboro in a 4 p.m. start at the Freeman Center.