NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Senior All-American Trey Barber scored 22 points, pulled down 17 rebounds, and blocked seven shots, leading Christopher Newport University over Rowan University, 83-73, Sunday afternoon at the Freeman Center. The victory came in the second round of the CNU/Holiday Inn Invitational, and fittingly Barber was selected MVP of the two-day tourney.

The Captains, now 5-2, won their fifth straight game, and Barber wasn't the only Captain to fill up the stat sheet. Fellow All-American senior Jahn Hines scored 21 points, posted eight boards, and also registered three assists, three steals, and three blocks.

"This was a really good win for us," Head Coach John Krikorian said following the victory. "We knew Rowan would give us a physical test, and credit to them because they never backed down. I think we did a really good job defensively, especially our guards, and hit enough shots to hold them off."

Christopher Newport built a 14-point lead at halftime, 43-29, and then stretched the advantage to 18 in the first two minutes of the second half. The Profs hung around, eventually trimming the lead as close as three points, 71-68, with 3:32 to play. CNU bounced back and freshman Hasan Hammad answered by hitting a three-pointer that started a 9-0 Captains run to put the lead back to double digits and hold off the Rowan comeback effort.

"What Trey and Jahn did was great today, but that three-pointer by Hasan may have been the biggest shot of the game," Krikorian continued. "We had some defensive lapses in the second half and missed a lot of foul shots that certainly hurt us, but when we needed it the most we were able to get it done."

Hamad finished with eight points, and junior Christian Wilson joined Barber and Hines in double figures with 15 points. Wilson made four critical free throws in the final minute of the game to help secure the win. 

Rowan, now 4-2, shot just 30 percent for the game from the field (25 of 84). The Profs out-rebounded the Captains, 55-50, including a 28-19 edge on the offensive glass.

Barber, who made nine of 15 shots for the day, was joined by Jahn Hines on the All-Tournament team. Hines' 21 points give him 1,109 for his career, and he has now moved into 26th place on CNU's all-time scoring list. He is now just 14 points behind Jo-Jo Chambers for the 25th spot on the list. 

Rowan's Khalif Meares, who scored 22 points Sunday to lead the Profs, was joined in double digits by Ja'Zere Noel (15) and Booty Butler (11). Noel, who scored 26 points and pulled down ten rebounds on Saturday in an overtime victory over Mary Washington, was named to the All-Tournament squad along with Greg Rowson of Mary Washington and Maley McCurty of Buffalo State.

Christopher Newport defeated Buffalo State on Saturday in the opening round of the two-day tourney. Sunday's game with Rowan was the first meeting ever of the schools in men's basketball.

The Captains will travel to Staunton, Va., on Saturday to play Mary Baldwin University. It will also be the first meeting ever of the schools, and the game is scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. start.