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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Junior guard Hector Feliciano-Ayala sliced through the lane and nailed a runner while getting fouled and the converted the free-throw with 20 seconds remaining to put Christopher Newport up by five. The traditional three-point play finally all but iced the back-and-forth battle against Wesley College in the CNU Point Plaza Invitational Championship Game, as CNU went on to win, 83-79.

Feliciano-Ayala had eight points in the contest, but the last three proved to be the biggest, as he helped CNU hold off the Wolverines in a game that saw neither team lead by double digits. CNU improves to 4-1 overall this season while Wesley drops to 2-3.

In the first half, rookie Tra Benefield and junior Conley Taylor each had nine points to pace CNU to a
one-point lead, 35-34. Wesley was led by a pair of double-figure scorers, getting 12 from Darrell Johnson and 10 from Rudy Thomas.

CNU jumped out to the biggest lead of the game in the second half, going up by nine with 10:38 remaining on a pair of free-throws from Taylor. Wesley answered with a 9-3 run to get it back within three on a Chris Douglas layup with 8:17 remaining. They would erase the lead entirely under three minutes later, going ahead up by one, 69-68, on a Paul Reynolds lay-in.

That would be the last time the Wolverines would lead, though, as CNU was strong from the line down the stretch, knocking down 11 of 13 attempts in the final 4:17, including the big three-point conversion from Feliciano-Ayala.

CNU was led by Benefield with a career-high 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 3-for-4 from long range. He added seven rebounds for the Captains while Brian Herrmann came off the bench to contribute 19 points, including a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. Taylor rounded out the CNU players in double figures, with 18 points and seven rebounds.

Wesley had four players in double figures, led by Paul Reynolds with 16 points. Chris Douglas and Darrell Johnson each had 15 for the Wolverines.

Johnson was named to the All-Tournament Team, and was joined by York College's Marcel Esonwune, Bridgewater's Kyle Hammond, and CNU's Tra Benefield and Conley Taylor, with Taylor earning Most Outstanding Player honors.

Christopher Newport will now hit the road for four straight games leading into the holiday season, starting with a trip to St. Mary's College (Md.) on Wednesday, Dec. 1.