SALISBURY, MD.- Christopher Newport, ranked sixth in the nation, trailed most of the night Wednesday night, but managed to come from behind and edge Salisbury in overtime, 61-59. The thrilling road win at the Maggs Center clinched the Capital Athletic Conference regular-season title for the Captains, who are now 19-1 overall and 13-0 in the CAC.

"This game showed a lot about the character of this team," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "We had to scrap our whole offense at halftime, that's how good Salisbury's defense was. We told them to just play, and what an amazing effort. The atmosphere was terrific and it was just a great college basketball game to watch."

The Captains faced an uphill climb all night. After CNU took a 2-0 lead to start the game, the Sea Gulls went ahead and held the advantage most of the night. SU was up by as many as 12 in the first half, and led at the half, 28-24. Junior Justin Hampton drilled a three-pointer on the buzzer to cut Salisbury's lead to four at the break.

CNU chipped away at the lead through the second half and finally pulled even at 45-45 with 3:19 to play thanks to a three-point play from sophomore Marcus Carter, who finished the night with 12 points.

The Gulls reclaimed the lead with two free throws, 47-45, only to see CNU tie the game at 47-47 on a Tim Daly layup with 2:44 to go. Salisbury would go ahead again, 49-47, on two free throws with 1:50 left, but CNU's defense would not let up. The Captains forced two SU turnovers in the final minute to set the stage for a wild finish.
 
Daly, who led the Captains for the second straight game by scoring 21 points, provided the squad with its most dramatic moment of the season. Daly was fouled during a frantic finish and calmly went to the foul line with one second remaining in the second half. Daly sank both free throws to tie the game at 49-49 and send the fierce battle to overtime.

In the extra period, CNU fell behind again as the Sea Gulls surged ahead by as many as four points. The Captains continued to battle, and junior Kevin Regimbal drained a three-point field goal with 1:50 left in overtime to pull CNU to within one, 57-56. The Gulls would up the lead again to three with two free throws, 59-56, but would not score again.

Daly scored on another layup to cut the lead back to one, 59-58, with 1:04 to play in OT. After a missed Salisbury shot, the Captains got back to the foul line with 22 second left and sophomore Aaron McFarland provided more drama. McFarland sank two more clutch free throws to give CNU its first lead since 2-0 to start the game.

Following another late Salisbury turnover, Regimbal went to the line with four seconds left and made one of two to put CNU up by two. Regimbal posted 12 points for the evening.

A three-point attempt by Salisbury at the buzzer was partially blocked by McFarland, and the Captains began their celebration. The 61-59 triumph marked the first overtime game of the season for CNU.
 
The win was the tenth straight for the Captains, and CNU is now 10-0 on the road this season. Salisbury fell to 15-5 overall and 8-5 in the CAC.

It's the first CAC regular-season title for the Captains, who are in their third season of league membership. The title assures the Captains of home-court advantage on February 25th in a league semi-final game, and also means CNU would host the championship game on February 27th if they advance.

"We have a lot of work still to do," Krikorian continued. "The next game is the most important game, and Saturday we have to be ready to play."

Christopher Newport concludes a three-game road swing with a Saturday game at Wesley. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m.