MT. BERRY, Ga. - Christopher Newport University opened 2024 on New Year's Day with an exciting come-from-behind victory over Berry College, 76-71. Senior All-American Jahn Hines registered a career-high 39 points as the Captains won their fifth straight game and improved to 12-3 overall. Hines netted 17 points in the opening half, and then tallied 22 more in the second half, leading the Captains from behind to beat the Vikings in the first-ever meeting of the schools.

"That was just a fun game to be a part of," Head Coach John Krikorian said following the victory at Cage Athletic and Recreation Center. "Jahn was obviously fantastic, but we had a lot of guys step up today and we threw everything we had at them. It was an important win for our program."

The Captains trailed by one at the half, 31-30, and were down by as many as seven in the opening half. The Vikings, now 3-9, stretched the lead to 13 in the second half, 54-41, with 11:35 to play when the Captains caught fire. CNU used a 15-3 run to erase the deficit and ended up out-scoring Berry, 35-17, over the last 11:35.

Three freshmen contributed greatly to the second half comeback by CNU. Toa Hollenbeck scored 13 points for the Captains, with nine coming in the second half. Hasan Hammad added nine points, with seven after halftime, and Isaiah Dozier tallied five of his eight in the second stanza.

Hines, whose previous high point total was 33 points vs. Salisbury, made 14-of-23 shots for the day and added five rebounds, four steals, and an assist. His 39-point performance is tied for sixth in single game point  totals in CNU history, and matched a 39-point effort from Brandon Jones in January of 1998. Hines, who now has 1,260 career points, moved into 19th place on CNU's all-time scoring list, passing Carlos Heard and Bobby Arnette on the list. He is now 23 points behind Tim Daly for 18th place on the list.

The Captains out-rebounded the Vikings, 36-26, with sophomore Collin Hines topping the team with seven boards. Christopher Newport was able to register the victory despite shooting just 39 percent from the floor (26 of 67), while the Captains defense held Berry to 45 percent for the day (22 of 49).

Berry was led by a 21-point effort from Blake Campbell, who averages 25 points per game, and a 20-point outburst from Braxton Benham, who scored 19 of his 20 in the second half.

Christopher Newport will continue its two-game trip to the Peach State on Wednesday, when the Captains play Emory University (8-2) in Atlanta. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m.