NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University needed a big second half Sunday to beat North Carolina Wesleyan at the Freeman Center. Junior All-American Jahn Hines scored 24 points, with 17 coming after halftime, as the Captains improved to 7-0 with a 79-71 win over the Bishops in the Championship game of the Holiday Inn Invitational.

The battle of former conference rivals was tied at the intermission, 30-30, and then saw the Bishops go up by as many as five in the second half, 49-44. CNU bounced back with a 14-4 run to re-take the lead, 58-53, and never trailed again. In all, the game featured seven lead changes and was tied 16 times. North Carolina Wesleyan, now 3-3, kept the game close until the final minute when the Captains were able to open a ten-point lead, the largest of the day for either squad.

"This was a really good test for our team," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "Hats off to North Carolina Wesleyan, they're a talented and athletic group that stretched us and made us really have to work for it. I challenged our big men at halftime, and I think their play made a big difference in the second half."

Those big men included senior Ian Anderson, who was selected to the All-Tournament squad after contributing 14 points and four rebounds. Junior Trey Barber registered the only double-double of the day, scoring 13 points and clearing 11 boards. Barber also rejected three shots for CNU. The Captains out-rebounded the Bishops, 43-33, and got to the foul line 44 times, making 28 free throws. It marked the most free throws attempted by a CNU team since the 2010-11 season.

But it was Hines who supplied the most firepower, making 9-of-14 shots, pulling down seven rebounds, and dishing out four assists. The Norfolk native was named the Most Valuable Player of the two-day tourney as the Captains out-scored NCWU in the second stanza, 49-41.

North Carolina Wesleyan had four players reach double figures in the scoring column, led by 13 points from junior Marquis Eskew. The Bishops made 30 of 66 shots (.455), but knocked down only one three-pointer in nine tries. CNU made 24 of 55 from the field (.436) and 3-of-13 from long range.

The longtime rivalry was renewed for the first time since the 2013 USA South Athletic Conference post-season tournament, CNU's last season in the league. The game was the 108th in the all-time series, and the Captains now hold a 69-39 advantage.

Earlier in the day, Eastern University (7-1) defeated Sarah Lawrence College (1-5) in the third-place game of the tourney, 69-62.

Christopher Newport, ranked fourth in the nation in the pre-season, returns to action on Saturday, playing at Averett University. The game in Danville, Va., is scheduled to tip off at 4:00 p.m., 

"We've had a busy stretch of games, with five games in ten days," Krikorian continued. "This week will give us a bit of a break to get off the floor for a couple of days and prepare for a busy December."