FERRUM, VA – Christopher Newport's men's basketball squad let a seven-point halftime lead slip away as Ferrum came from behind to defeat the Captains, 94-83, Saturday afternoon.
CNU led 47-40 at the break and led by as many as eight in the second stanza after two free throws by Conley Taylor with 16:22 left in the game.
The Panthers Jerrell Wade caught fire and scored Ferrum's first nine points of the second half. FC took its first lead (57-56) in the second stanza with 14:18 left on Wade's third three-pointer of the half.
The game see-sawed back and forth until Ferrum took the lead for good with 8:06 to go on Jon Godsey's lay-up to give the Panthers a 67-66 lead. FC increased its lead to 10 with 2:14 to go and CNU answered with a three-pointer, but the Panthers would answer any Captain run.
Christopher Newport's biggest lead in the first half was seven, set several times. CNU shot 63% from the field in the opening stanza but shot just 45% in the second half. The Captains were 33-of-61 (63%) from the floor for the game, 5-of-15 (33%) from behind the arc and 12-of-19 (63%) from the charity stripe.
FC shot 47% from the field in the opening half but caught fire in the second half, shooting 51% from the floor, including 6-of-8 (75%) from behind the arc. For the game, the Panthers were 36-of-73 (49%) from the floor, 10-of-18 (56%) from long range and 12-of-17 (71%) from the line.
The Panthers were led by five players in double figures. Keith Crump scored 15 of his game-high 26 points in the second half. Derek Mitchell finished with 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Marcus May contributed 17 points and seven boards off the bench. Godsey added 14 while Wade had 12.
Davon Barton led Christopher Newport with 20 points and season-high 14 assists. Michael Green added a career-high 17 points to go along with six rebounds. Taylor added 19 points while Thomas Whinnett had 11 and nine boards.
Ferrum improves to 9-8 overall and 3-1 in the USA South. The Captains are now 4-12 on the year and 0-3 in conference play. CNU returns to action Sunday when they travel to Averett with start time set for 4 pm.
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