NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University never trailed on Saturday, defeating Mary Baldwin University at the Freeman Center, 96-76. The win was the fourth straight for the 18th-ranked Captains, who improved to 9-2 on the season.

John Krikorian's squad broke a 9-9 tie in the opening half and went on a 13-4 run to pull away from the Fighting Squirrels, who fell to 4-4 with the loss. CNU held a 47-33 advantage at halftime, and pushed the lead to as many as 25 late in the second half en route to the 20-point victory.

Fifth-year senior All-American Jahn Hines led the team in scoring for the seventh time this season by pouring in 21 points. Three other Captains joined him in double figures, as sophomore Tyson Henderson netted 14, sophomore Ethan Ward tallied 13, and sophomore Toa Hollenbeck scored 12. Junior Collin Hines pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds and also scored nine points. Henderson dished out nine assists to go with his 14 points.

"The stat sheet tells a great story, and I thought we did a lot of very good things today," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "We made some mistakes in the first half, but I thought we cleaned it up in the second half. Credit to Mary Baldwin for staying with us and scoring the way they did. They hit a lot of tough shots, and hung around."

The Captains dominated the glass, out-rebounding Mary Baldwin, 53-23. Collin Hines' career-high 17 rebounds is the most by a CNU player since Nik Biberaj pulled down 17 in a game in 2012. Hines recently registered 12 rebounds on November 23rd in a CNU victory over Kean at the Freeman Center, which marked his previous high rebounding total. Ward and sophomore Jason Ofcarcik each posted seven boards, as the Captains held a 22-7 advantage in offensive rebounds.

Christopher Newport shot well again, making 40 of 75 attempts for 53.3 percent, after shooting 61 percent on Wednesday in a home victory over Marymount that saw them score 94 points. The Captains were 21 of 34 in the second half Saturday for 61.8 percent after shooting 74 percent in Wednesday's second half vs. the Saints.

Mary Baldwin was led by a 22-point performance from junior Zach Sloan, and graduate student Jaden Ignacio knocked down eight of 12 shots to finish with 17 points. The game was the second in as many years with Mary Baldwin. Last year in Staunton, the Captains held on for a 64-61 triumph in the first meeting ever of the schools. The Mary Baldwin men's program began play just five years ago.

Christopher Newport now has a 12-day break for final exams before resuming play at the Jay Bilas Classic in Charlotte, N.C. CNU will play Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the first game of two at Queens University on Thursday, December 19, with tip off time set for 6:00 p.m. The Captains will then play Elmhurst College on Friday, December 20, at 4:00 p.m. in the two-day classic.

"This break will be a good thing for us, physically and mentally," Krikorian continued. "Our guys have played a lot of games, and now they'll be able to be completely focused on their academics. After the finals, we'll have a few days to get ready for the tough battles we've got coming up in Charlotte."