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ASHLAND, Va. -- Down by 18 points with less than five minutes to go, the Christopher Newport University men's basketball team stormed all the way back to tie with less than ten seconds remaining the game, but host Randolph-Macon (1-0) came away the season opening victory on a layup with 1.2 seconds remaining to win 90-88. Senior Conley Taylor nailed a three with six seconds remaining to tie the game and he led the team with 18 points.

The opener was a wild one from the outset, as the first half was highly contested with nine lead changes and five ties. The largest lead of the first 20 minutes was 28-22 when Andre Simon scooped in a layup with 7:39 remaining. The Captains answered and pulled ahead by two, 38-36, on a three-pointer by Mike Cherry with 2:11 on the clock. Macon finished the half on a 5-0 mini-run to take a three-point lead, 41-38.

The Captains were led by newcomer Jon Snead and sophomore Tra Benefield. Snead had eight points on 3-of-4 shooting in the first half while Benefield had seven points and three rebounds. Taylor had four thefts in the first half and finished with six on the night, tying a career high in steals.

In the second half, Randolph-Macon came out firing, pulling ahead by double digits on a Jamie Robinson layup with just under 16 minutes remaining. The roller coaster ride continued as after Macon built the lead to 15, the Captains went on a run of their own to pull back within five, 60-55, on a traditional three-point play by Taylor with 12:43 remaining.

The home team then went on a 25-12 run over the next eight minutes to build its biggest lead of the night, an 18-point deficit for the Captains at 85-67. With just 4:51 on the clock, the dunk-and-one play by Andre Simon could have been a back-breaking play for CNU, but the Captains had one more run in the tank.

Rookie Corey Cooper knocked down a three to get things going and a pair of free-throws by Alex Granger were followed by a dunk from Benefield. The clock kept ticking but the Captains got the lead down to single digits on a pair of free-throws by Taylor. Back-to-back layups by Benefield had CNU in a two-possession game at 86-82 with 58 seconds remaining. After a foul and a pair of free-throws by Macon, junior point guard Paul Meredith hit three straight free-throws to pull CNU within three, 88-85. On his next free-throw attempt he missed, Benefield grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it out to Taylor for the game-tying three with six seconds on the clock, capping the impressive 21-3 run in under five minutes of play.

Macon drove the length of the floor and got a layup from Simon with 1.2 seconds remaining for the game winner at home, 90-88. Simon led the game with 28 points and 11 rebounds, while also grabbing four steals.

CNU had four players in double figures led by Taylor's 18 points with five rebounds and six steals. Benefield had 15 points and six rebounds while newcomers Cherry and Snead finished with 12 and 11 respectively. As a team, the Captains shot 45.9% from the field.

Christopher Newport returns to action this Friday in Fredericksburg as they take on Mary Washington at 7:00 pm in the Eagles home opener.