NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport used a second half surge Wednesday night to pull away from Marymount at the Freeman Center. The Captains, ranked third in the country, won for the 14th straight time with a 72-52 verdict over the Saints.

CNU has now won 23 straight home games dating back to December of 2015, and John Krikorian's squad reached the 20-win mark for the third straight season.The Captains never trailed in the game, jumping to a nine-point lead at the half, 33-24, and then extending the advantage to as many as 26 in the second stanza.

"We were worried a bit coming into tonight's game because of the flu bug that's going through the team," Krikorian said. "I thought we played with a lot of energy and executed well. Our defense did a good job on their big man, Dmitri Rucker, and that was a key for us coming in." The Captains held Rucker to nine points on three of 12 shooting.

Junior Aaron McFarland came off the bench to lead Christopher Newport with 20 points, knocking down four of six attempts from beyond the three-point arc. McFarland is now just 18 points shy of 1,000 for his career, as he looks to join teammates Tim Daly and Marcus Carter, who both surpassed the 1,000-point mark earlier this season.

Senior Kevin Regimbal posted 15 points, and Carter added 14 along with a team-high eight rebounds.

CNU leads the nation in opponent field goal percentage, and held the Saints to just 15 of 53 shooting for the game (28.3 percent). The Captains also held their opponent under the 60-point mark for the 15th time in 22 games.

The Captains are now 20-2 overall and 14-1 atop the Capital Athletic Conference standings. CNU has a one-game lead over Salisbury, who beat Penn State-Harrisburg Wednesday night, 83-67, to improve to 13-2 in the CAC.

Marymount was led by 12 points from Brandon Rogers. The Saints are now 10-12 overall and 7-8 in the CAC. Christopher Newport now holds a 20-2 lead in the all-time series with the Saints, and won by a 70-57 margin in the first meeting on January 8th in Arlington.

CNU has not lost since December 17th, when the Captains were beaten by Salisbury on a half-court shot at the final buzzer in Salisbury, Md. The Captains have not lost at home since December 30, 2015, when they were defeated by Scranton in the championship game of the Captains Shootout. 

Christopher Newport hosts its final regular-season home game Saturday at the Freeman Center. The Captains take on Wesley in a 4:00 p.m. start. It will be Senior Day at the Freeman Center as CNU honors the senior quartet of Tim Daly, Rayshard Brown, Justin Hampton, and Kevin Regimbal.