SALISBURY, Md. – The Christopher Newport men's basketball team dropped their second game this week after stumbling down the stretch in a 54-48 decision to Salisbury. The loss drops the Captains to 5-3 on the season and is their last before breaking for the holidays.

CNU raced out of the gate getting layups from Hunter Wetherell, Connor Laframboise, Brendon Burrows and Mike Cherry en route to a 10-0 lead. However, Salisbury slowed the pace of play to a crawl and limited opportunities in transition, as they slowly chipped away at the deficit. After shooting 5-9 from the floor in the opening five minutes, Salisbury limited CNU to 5-15 shooting the remainder of the half.

Neither team established rhythm during a first half that was marred by turnovers and missed shots. CNU managed to take a 24-22 lead into the half despite turning the ball over 11 times and 10-24 shooting from the floor. A strong performance on the glass, 19 rebounds to Salisbury's 12, allowed the Captains to enter the break with the slim lead.

Hot shooting from beyond the arc made CNU play from behind immediately in the second half. Justin Witmer hit an open three-point basket 11 seconds into the second stanza to give Salisbury the lead. Senior guard, Conor Strickland followed his team mate a minute later with another three-pointer to give Salisbury a four point advantage before Hunter Wetherell scored CNU's first points of the half.

After tying the game at 30 with over 14 minutes to play, it was another stretch of three-point baskets that extend Salisbury's lead for good.

Kyle Savercool, averaging 12 points per game on the season yet held scoreless for the first 27 minutes of play, hit two three-pointers and added a layup in a three minute stretch. Combined with a Rocky Harris three-pointer, the run gave Salisbury a 43-34 lead.

While both teams traded occasional baskets, the clock slowly expired on the Captains' comeback hopes. However, with 20 seconds remaining, and trailing by seven, Marcus Carter found himself on the right wing with a contested three-point attempt. Savercool collided with Carter as he took the shot and sent Carter to the line where he would hit all three free throw attempts to cut the Sea Gulls lead to 51-48.

After a timeout, Brendon Burrows sent a jolt through the Maggs Physical Activity Center when he managed a steal on the Salisbury inbounds play and found Aaron McFarland for an open three-point attempt to tie the game. The shot hit hard off of the rim and Salisbury collected the rebound.

Three Salisbury free throws would complete the night's scoring and give the Sea Gulls their first win Capital Athletic Conference play this season.
CNU falls to 5-3 ,overall and 2-1 in CAC play.

The Captains will return to action on Monday, December 29 when they play host to Otterbein in the Crowne Plaza Captains shootout at 5:30 pm. It will be the first of a three-game home stand.