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NEWPORT NEWS, Va.- Christopher Newport concluded the 2013 schedule Monday evening with a 76-70 win over Pitt-Greensburg at the Freeman Center. The victory was the sixth in a row for the Captains, who improved to 9-1 for the season.

CNU was able to prevail in the non-conference battle despite shooting just 34 percent from the field, and making just four of 29 attempts from beyond the three-point line.

"I'm not sure you can win a lot of games shooting like that," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "We made up for it by shooting well at the foul line and forcing 21 turnovers. Pitt-Greensburg is a good team, they shoot the ball well...we were fortunate to get this win."

CNU led by six at the half, 30-24, and then widened the lead to as many as 12 with just over seven minutes to play in the second half. The Bobcats came storming back thanks mostly to three-point shooting to make things interesting down the stretch. After a 12-0 Captains run gave CNU a 56-44 lead, Pitt-Greensburg scored the next nine points to cut the lead to 56-53. The Bobcats were 11 of 24 from beyond the arc for the night, and connected on 10 of 15 three-pointers in the second stanza.

The Captains, ranked 18th in the country, repeatedly went to the foul line in the final minutes of the second half, and ended up 30 of 41 at the charity stripe for the night. Junior Mike Cherry, who suffered a groin injury during shoot-around Monday morning, did not start the game but still played 21 minutes and finished with 17 points. He made 12 of 14 attempts from the stripe all in the second half.

Senior Tra Benefield also finished with 17 points for Christopher Newport, with 14 coming in the first half. Sophomores Evan Thorpe and Connor Laframboise posted 10 points each. Thorpe made six of eight at the foul line, and connected on his final five attempts to help the Captains put the game away.

Benefield, who is eighth on the all-time CNU scoring list, has now scored 1,495 career points. Cherry's 17 now gives him 926 for his career. The game marked the 200th as a head coach for CNU's John Krikorian, who is in his fourth season guiding the Captains.

Pitt-Greensburg was led by sophomore Jerell Figueroa and freshman Marcus Thomas who scored 15 points each. The Bobcats are now 5-5 following the defeat. The game was the first meeting ever of the two schools.

Christopher Newport returns to Capital Athletic Conference play, opening 2014 on Saturday with a home game against Frostburg State. Tipoff time is set for 4 p.m. at the Freeman Center.