NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The CNU men's basketball team has turned its season around, picking up its fifth straight win, an 82-69 victory over Shenandoah, to advance to the USA South championship game Saturday at 4:30 in the Freeman Center.

The Captains will meet top-seeded N.C. Wesleyan, a 90-70 victor over Averett in Friday's first semi-final. The Bishops went through the conference with an 11-1 record, the only loss coming to CNU, 86-79, in mid-January.

CNU closed the first half against Shenandoah, a team it had lost to twice in the regular season, on a 12-5 run to take a 42-34 halftime lead.

The Captains led the entire second half, although the Hornets cut the margin to three, 52-49, with 10:36 to play. But Christopher Newport burst to a 13-1 streak, building the margin to 65-50 at the 6:04 mark on a pair of free throws by Conley Taylor and went on to the win.

Taylor led four Captains in double figures with 18 points. Theo Baker added 17, while Mark Blasingame had yet another double-double with 16 points and ten rebounds and added four blocked shots. Brian Hermann contributed 15 points.

The Captains are now 14-12 and will play in their second straight conference final and 23rd in school history.
 
The box score