NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport broke open a close game midway through the first half Wednesday night, and coasted to an 80-55 triumph over Southern Virginia University. The Captains improved to 4-1 with the Capital Athletic Conference-opening win at the Freeman Center.

CNU led 18-14 with 9:06 remaining in the opening half, and proceeded to go on a 23-5 run to end the half with a 41-19 lead. The Captains then stretched the advantage to as many as 37 in the second stanza as all 16 players saw playing time, and 11 got into the scoring column.

"We're always trying to get better and show improvement and I think we did that again tonight," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "There were some really good efforts and overall we achieved our goals for the game."

CNU's defense held the Knights to just 35 percent shooting for the night (19 of 54) and forced 17 SVU turnovers. The Captains have held all four of their opponents under 60 points this year in their early-season victories.

Christopher Newport made 32 of 61 shots (52.5 percent) and knocked down eight of 22 attempts from three-point range.

Senior Tim Daly led the way with 13 points and nine rebounds in just 16 minutes of action. Daly is now just 20 points shy of 1,000 for his career. He is looking to become the 30th player in CNU men's basketball history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.

Junior Aaron McFarland contributed 11 points, and sophomore Tyler Femi and freshman Savonte Chappell each added ten. No CNU player logged more than 23 minutes of playing time in the 25-point victory.

Christopher Newport out-rebounded Southern Virginia, 40-32, led by Daly's nine boards.

Aarun Rumbaugh led the Knights with 15 points followed by Rashay Douglas with 13.

The Captains opens its December slate with another CAC game on Saturday, as Frostburg State travels to the Freeman Center for a 4:00 p.m. tipoff. The Bobcats are 1-5 overall and 0-1 in the Capital following a Wednesday night loss at Mary Washington, 75-55.