NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University opened its home schedule on Wednesday night, and defeated Randolph-Macon College at the Freeman Center, 64-54. Senior Jahn Hines led the Captains with 16 points, followed by senior Trey Barber and freshman Hasan Hammad, who each posted a dozen points. The victory followed a pre-game unveiling of a banner in the Freeman Center celebrating CNU's first National Championship last season.

"We felt that if we could get into a good defensive rhythm and force some stops, we could create some separation and I was pleased we were able to do that," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "I think that led to some good looks at the other end of the court. Like us, Randolph-Macon really takes pride in its defense, and you don't get anything easy. We had to be patient and we ended up hitting some big shots in the second half that was the difference."

Krikorian's squad, now 2-2 on the season, fell behind by eight points, 16-8, with just under nine minutes to play in the opening half before scoring 13 straight points to surge in front. The Yellow Jackets, now 1-2 in the new season, recovered in the final minutes of the first half, and led at the intermission,24-23.

After the last two Division III National Champions went back-and-forth through the first six minutes of the second half, CNU grabbed a 34-32 lead on a three-point play by junior Caleb Furr, and never trailed again. The Captains used two key three-pointers from Hammad and one from junior Christian Wilson to calm R-MC rallies, and went up by as many as 14 with just over a minute to play in the second stanza on the way to the 10-point triumph.

Christopher Newport shot 58 percent (15 of 26) from the field in the second half, and ended up at 50 percent (24 of 48) for the night. The Captains held a 39-28 edge on the boards, with Barber (9) and Furr (8) leading the way in the rebounding column. Only six Captains scored in the victory, and Wilson netted nine (seven in the second half), Furr finished with eight (all after halftime), and freshman Toa Hollenbeck scored seven (all in the opening half).

CNU has now won nine of the last 11 games in the series with Randolph-Macon, but the Yellow Jackets hold a 20-12 advantage in the all-time series.

"It's a process for sure, and we have a long way to go," Krikorian continued. "A lot of these guys are playing college basketball games for the first time, and it takes a while. We're working to get our lineups and rotations in place, and I'm beginning to see where we're going.and what we're capable of."

Christopher Newport returns to the Freeman Center for a Saturday game vs.yet another distinguished opponent. The Captains will take on the Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins (2-2) with tipoff set for 4:30 p.m. JHU was ranked 12th in the pre-season national poll, giving the Captains their third Top 15 opponent in the first five games of the season.