NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – In their first-ever game played in Virginia, the Brandeis University men's basketball team dropped a 79-73 decision at seventh-ranked Christopher Newport University tonight in their final non-conference game of the season.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 8-3.
• Christopher Newport, 14-2.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The game featured five ties and seven lead changes, with both squads holding the lead for about 18 minutes of game time.
• The Judges had the edge in the first half, leading the Captains, 35-31, after the first 20 minutes.
• Brandeis had a balanced attack in the first period, with first-year Ethan Edwards (Brooklyn, N.Y./Woodstock Acad.) scoring 10 points, while junior Ryan Power (Waltham, Mass./Waltham) had eight and sophomore forward Toby Harris (Durham, N.C./Durham Acad.) added six.
• CNU had just three players score points in the first half, led by junior All-American Jahn Hines's 14, 10 from Rodney Graves and seven from Ty Henderson.
• The hosts opened the second half on a 7-2 run to reclaim the lead on a Hines jumper.
• Brandeis answered with the next six points out of a timeout, going ahead 43-38 on a put-back by junior Darret Justice (Haymarket, Va./Highland School).
• The Judges were still ahead, 48-46, after a hoop by first-year Quron Zene (Windsor, Conn./IMG Acad.) with 12:48 left in the game.
• The Captains answered by scoring the game's next 14 points, holding the Judges scoreless for a four-minute span. The hosts built a 60-48 lead after Matthew Brodie's 3-pointer with 8:07 to go.
• Brandeis hung around, eventually closing back within two points at 69-67 on a Power put-back with 1:57 left in the contest.
• On the following possession, the Judges went into a press, but after Harris was whistled for his fifth foul, the Brandeis bench was also called for a technical foul, allowing the Captains to score three points from the foul line to pus their lead back to 72-67.
• Edwards was able to answer with a bucket on the other end, but missed a chance at a three-point play.
• The Judges were able to avoid further damage when Power drew a charge, but CNU forced a turnover and Graves converted a three-point play of his own with just under a minute to go to make it 75-69 and icing the game.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Edwards came off the bench to record a career-high in scoring, leading the Judges with 23 points. He hit 5-of-14 from the field, 2-of-7 from 3-point range, and 11-of-12 from the line.
• Harris finished with 16 points, 10 coming in the second half, before fouling out.
• It marked just the second time this season Harris was held below 20 points this season. He also failed to make a 3-pointer for the first time this season after averaging 3.5 trifectas per game.  
• Power added 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor and 1-of-2 from the line.
• Power and Harris tied for the team-high with five rebounds as the Judges outrebounded the Captains, 31-30.
• CNU's Hines led all players with 25 points, while Graves finished with 23. Henderson added 16 points.
• Graves had a game-high six rebounds, while Trey Barber had five. Brodie added three assists.
• After being held to 45 percent shooting in the first half, CNU shot 52% in the second.
• Brandeis was whistled for 27 fouls to 21 for CNU, with three Brandeis starters fouling out of the game.
• The Captains held Brandeis to season-lows in 3-pointers made (3) and 3-point percentage (18.8%).

UP NEXT

• Brandeis opens up conference play on Saturday, January 7, at 3 p.m. against unbeaten NYU.
• CNU heads to York (Pa.) at the same time.