FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - Christopher Newport University trailed 22-9 midway through the first half Wednesday night at the University of Mary Washington before the fourth-ranked Captains took control to surge to a 67-53 victory at Ron Rosner Arena. The Captains were led by a career-high 19 points from fifth-year senior Brandon Edmond, who scored the first 12 points of the game for CNU on four three-point shots.

John Krikorian's squad held the Eagles to just 26 percent shooting for the night (16 of 62) and UMW knocked down just four-of-26 (15 percent) from three-point range. The Captains improved to 19-3 with the road win, while the Eagles dropped to 15-6 on the season.

"For whatever reason, I had a feeling we weren't really locked in early in the game," Krikorian said. "One thing about this squad, though, when you punch us in the face we usually respond. Fortunately, Brandon kept us in striking distance early and we were able to defend the way we know we have to to win, especially on the road."

Both squads struggled through scoring droughts in the opening half. The Captains used a 14-0 run to take their first lead, 23-22, only to see the Eagles recover and take a 27-25 lead to the locker room at halftime. The second half belonged to the Captains, as CNU out-scored UMW, 42-26, in the second stanza to cruise to the 14-point triumph. 

Junior big man Trey Barber registered 16 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Barber also blocked five shots and posted two steals. Sophomore guard Ty Henderson joined Edmond and Barber in double digits with 12 points, all in the second half, and made his last six foul shots to help put the game away.

Edmond, making his second straight start, sparked the Captains by making seven-of-13 shots including five-of-nine from long range. He scored nine points on three triples in the first three minutes of the game, and added a fourth three shortly after the midway point of the half. He erased his previous career high of 16 set in November of 2019 against UT-Dallas at the Freeman Center.

CNU's leading scorer for the season, Jahn Hines, was held to four points and fouled out with 2:02 to play. "Credit Mary Washington...they know Jahn and decided they were going to make it very hard for him, but the good thing is he affects the game in a lot of ways," Krikorian continued. "That also opened things up a little bit and Trey really stepped up and had a complete game."

The Captains ended up shooting 40 percent for the game (23 of 58) and made 11-of-28 from distance (39 percent). CNU out-rebounded the Eagles, 47-40.The Captains out-scored UMW, 58-31, over the final 30 minutes of action.

Mary Washington was led by a double-double from senior Greg Rowson, who scored 15 and pulled down 11 rebounds. Fifth-year senior Da'Shawn Cook led in scoring with 16 points for UMW.

The victory was the seventh straight for the Captains over Mary Washington, and CNU has now taken 16 of the last 17 in the all-time series. Christopher Newport returns home on Saturday to take on the Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz, with tip-off set for 4:00 p.m. at the Freeman Center.

"I hope to see a big crowd again this Saturday," Krikorian said. "Last Saturday the excitement was fantastic at the Freeman Center, and we'd love to play in that kind of atmosphere again. Two of our last three games to end the regular season are at home, so that's certainly a plus for us."