NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport and Salisbury staged another exciting battle Wednesday night at the Freeman Center, with the 15th-ranked Captains pulling out a 67-64 victory. It marked the fifth straight win for CNU, as the Captains improved to 16-2 overall and 6-1 in the Capital Athletic Conference. Senior Marcus Carter led the way with 20 points, and sophomore Jason Aigner also reached double figures with 15.

The back-and-forth affair featured 11 lead changes and was tied three times. Christopher Newport was able to hang on despite shooting just 39 percent from the field for the game (24 of 62) and just 46 percent at the foul line (ten of 22).

"We knew we were in for a battle, and it's obviously a great win," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "I give Salisbury a lot of credit...we were a little tight tonight and never really found our rhythm...and had some struggles at the line, where we've been really good all year."

The Captains got off to a slow start, missing their first nine three-point attempts of the game. CNU recovered by connecting on its next three attempts and bounced back ahead, 30-29, at the half thanks to a Carter jumper as time expired in the first half.

Salisbury, now 13-5 and 3-4, led by as many as seven, 47-40, with 12:43 remaining in the second half. Just six minutes later, the Captains had surged to an eight-point advantage, 60-52, thanks to a 20-5 run. During that span, Carter drained a three-pointer with 10:24 to play to give CNU a 50-49 edge they would not relinquish the rest of the way. The Sea Gulls would not go away quietly, and stormed back yet again to make it interesting in the final minutes by cutting the lead to as close as one, 63-62, with 2:27 to go.

The game remained a one-point difference until junior Cutch Ellis connected for two free throws to give CNU a 67-64 lead with 30 seconds remaining. Following a Salisbury turnover, the Captains went back to the line but missed twice with seven seconds left, leaving it a one-score differential.

Salisbury in-bounded the ball, and the Captains elected to foul sophomore Mike Ward, putting him at the line for a one-and-one situation with just three ticks left. Ward missed the front end, and junior Luther Gibbs secured the rebound and time expired as the Captains held on for the three-point triumph.

The Sea Gulls out-rebounded the Captains, 43-42, marking only the third time this season CNU has been out-rebounded. The Captains lost the two other games they fell short in the rebounding column to Lynchburg and Mary Washington. Gibbs led CNU with eight boards. 

Carter, who left the game with a leg injury in the final minutes, also contributed six rebounds and four assists in addition to his 20 points. He is now just 13 points behind Davon Barton for eighth place on CNU's all-time scoring list.

Ward led three Salisbury players in double figures with 16 points. CNU now holds a 28-15 lead in the all-time series with the Sea Gulls, and the Captains have won five straight and eight of the last nine. The teams will meet again in Salisbury, MD., on February 13th.

The victory, in front of 703 Freeman Center fans, gives the Captains a 10-0 record at home this season. Christopher Newport remains tied atop the CAC with Mary Washington at 6-1 following Wednesday night's action, which marked the halfway point of the conference schedule. The Captains travel to Pennsylvania to take on the Spartans of York College on Saturday. The game is set to start at 3:00 p.m.