NEWPORT NEWS, Va.- With six and a half minutes left in the first half, Christopher Newport trailed York College of Pennsylvania at the Freeman Center, 21-16. The Captains, ranked 13th in the country, then mounted a 16-6 run to end the first half Saturday afternoon...and went on to out-score the Spartans, 56-32, over the final 26 and a half minutes of basketball to coast to a 72-53 triumph. CNU, now 14-1 overall, improved to 8-0 in the Capital Athletic Conference, and now holds a three-game lead in the CAC standings with ten games to play.

"It was about what I expected in the first half," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "They've got good players, especially inside, and they really made us work for it. The stretch at the end of the first half opened things up for us, but it certainly wasn't easy."

After a seesaw first half that saw four lead changes, the Captains knocked down seven of their nine three-point field goals in the second stanza to stretch the lead to as many as 22. Junior guard Rayshard Brown led the way for the Captains with a career-high 17 points and also dished out five assists. Brown made five of seven shots, including three from beyond the arc, and also pulled down four rebounds.

Junior Tim Daly registered his second straight double-double, contributing 15 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore Marcus Carter, who left the game early in the second half with a possible concussion, tallied 15 points in just 20 minutes of playing time. Fellow sophomore Aaron McFarland, who leads the squad in scoring for the season, bounced back after a scoreless first half and posted 12 points in the second half.

"Coming in we knew it would be about the tempo of the game," Krikorian continued. "Our defense was solid most of the day, and giving up just 53 points is pretty impressive." The Captains also held the Spartans to just 34 percent shooting for the day (15 of 44).

CNU was dominant on the boards against a York squad that was out-rebounding its opponents coming into the game. The Captains posted 40 rebounds to just 25 for the Spartans.

York, now 7-8 overall and 3-5 in the CAC, was led by 16 points from junior Dalton Myers. The CNU win was the sixth straight over York in the series, and the Captains now hold a 6-1 all-time lead. The teams will meet again on February 13th in York, PA.

The Captains now have a three-game lead in the CAC standings, thanks to a 73-67 win by St. Mary's over Penn State-Harrisburg Saturday. The Lions fell to 5-3 in the CAC with the home loss, and are now tied with Salisbury for second place.

CNU now begins a stretch that will see the Captains play their next three games on the road, and four of the next five. Wednesday night, Christopher Newport will travel to Maryland to take on St. Mary's College. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m. in St. Mary's City, MD. The Seahawks will enter play on Wednesday with a mark of 8-7 overall and 4-4 in the CAC.