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NEWPORT NEWS, Va.- The Christopher Newport University men's basketball team out-scored Penn State Harrisburg Saturday, 74-44, to clinch a spot in the six-team Capital Athletic Conference post-season tournament. The Captains, who improved to 16-7 overall and 8-6 in the CAC, broke open a close game in the first half and never looked back.

"That's how it is supposed to look," Head Coach John Krikorian said following the win at the Freeman Center. "That was a great team effort...we got contributions from a lot of people and never lost our focus."

After the game was tied at 12-12, CNU went on a 27-12 run to open a 39-24 lead at the half. The Captains then out-scored the Lions by 15 in the second half, 35-20, to cruise to the 30-point triumph.

Sophomore Evan Thorpe came off the bench to spark the Captains. Thorpe posted 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals in 21 minutes of playing time.

"That's about as efficient as it gets," Krikorian continued. "Evan gave us a real spark today and really helped us build the lead."

Junior guard Mike Cherry led the team in scoring with 16 points, 15 coming on five three-pointers. Cherry moved into 24th place on the school's all-time scoring list, and now has scored 1,088 points in 79 career games.

CNU's defense held the Lions to just 36 percent shooting for the afternoon. The Captains out-rebounded Penn State Harrisburg, 40-25, and posted 17 offensive rebounds to just six for the Lions.

Penn State Harrisburg is now 8-15 overall and 5-9 in the Capital. The CNU victory avenged an overtime loss at Penn State Harrisburg on January 11th, 63-60.

"Every game this time of year is essential," Krikorian said. "We've got a week to go and two big games coming up. Wednesday night against St. Mary's will be extra special because it's Senior Night and we'll be honoring Tra Benefield and Luc Atangana, who have both been phenomenal representatives of Christopher Newport University."

Benefield, who scored nine points on Saturday, now has 1,703 for his career in 101 games. He is sixth on the CNU all-time scoring list.

Christopher Newport remains in sole possession of fourth place in the CAC standings. The Captains begin the final week of the regular season by hosting St. Mary's (MD) Wednesday night. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Freeman Center.