NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University held off a second half charge from Salisbury University Saturday, escaping with an 80-76 victory over the Sea Gulls at the Freeman Center. The Captains, now 21-2 and ranked fourth in the nation, won their 18th straight game by holding on in the final minutes after leading by as many as 25 in the second half.

Fifth-year senior Jason Aigner, who was honored along with two teammates before the game on Senior Day, led the way for the Captains with 23 points. Aigner cemented the victory by sinking two free throws with 12 seconds left after Salisbury had cut the lead to two, 78-76.

"Salisbury has a talented and experienced team, and we saw them battle to the finish in the first meeting," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "After we had built the lead up, there was some complacency on our part and some empty possessions, but they played without fear and hit some amazing shots. Credit to Salisbury, they've lost a lot of close games this year and they could easily have 15 or 16 wins."

Sophomore Jahn Hines posted 16 points, including ten in the second half, and senior Darian Peterson registered his fourth straight double-double for the Captains, contributing 15 points and 12 rebounds.    

CNU never trailed in the game, and held a 19-point lead at halftime, 47-28, after shooting 52 percent from the floor in the opening half (15 of 29). The Captains pushed their edge to as high as 25 two minutes into the second half, 53-28, only to see Salisbury respond with a 16-4 run to cut the advantage to 13. The Sea Gulls, now 9-11, made 20 of 39 shots in the second half, including five three-pointers, and continued to whittle away at the Captains lead down the stretch.

The Captains still maintained a 12-point edge with 2:40 to play, when Salisbury caught fire from long range. The Sea Gulls knocked down a trio of three-pointers in a span of just over a minute to climb within five, 77-72, with 1:37 remaining on the clock. SU knocked the lead all the way down to two, 78-76, on a layup by Brandon Craig with 47 seconds to go. After a missed jumper from Hines, the Sea Gulls had an opportunity to tie or go ahead, but a steal by senior Adrian Beasley forced Salisbury to foul Aigner with 12 seconds left, and the fifth-year senior calmly sank both ends to provide the 80-76 final margin.

"I was so happy to see Jason make those shots to seal the win on Senior Day," Krikorian continued. "It was fitting for him to conclude his regular-season career here at the Freeman Center like that. All three of our seniors we honored today did some really important things in this game to contribute to the victory."

Aigner, who is 12th on the CNU all-time scoring list, drained five three-pointers and made 6 of 10 from the field while sinking all six shots from the charity stripe for the day. CNU made 44 percent of its shots overall (24 of 55), but only 9 of 26 in the second stanza (35 percent). The Captains converted 22 of 28 free throws (79 percent).

The Gulls' relentless full-court pressure forced 11 CNU turnovers in the second half, after the Captains had committed just five miscues in the opening half. Salisbury out-scored CNU in the second half, 48-33, and sank 11 more field goals than the Captains after halftime, 20-9. Fifth-year senior Gary Briddell led the Gulls with 16 points, followed by junior Greg Bloodsworth with 15. Salisbury out-rebounded CNU, 36-35, becoming just the third CNU opponent to win the battle on the boards (Lynchburg and Marietta, in the only losses this year for the Captains, are the other two).

A crowd of 917 watched the Captains win their 11th straight games over the Sea Gulls in the series, and Christopher Newport holds a 34-15 lead in the 49 games played. CNU has won 14 of the last 15 games dating back to the 2015-16 season.

The game was the final regular-season home game for the Captains, who are now 13-0 at the Freeman Center this season. Christopher Newport closes out the regular season next Saturday, February 19th, playing at the University of Mary Washington. Game time is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at the Anderson Center in Fredericksburg.

The Captains have not lost since November 21st, an 83-66 defeat at Lynchburg.