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NEWPORT NEWS, Va.- After trailing the entire first half, the Christopher Newport men's basketball squad went to work in the second half and raced past Salisbury, 71-60.

The Captains, ranked 21st in the nation this week, were paced by sophomore Aaron McFarland's career-high 27 points as they improved to 5-0 for the first time since the 2004-2005 season. Wednesday night's triumph at the Freeman Center also gives CNU a 2-0 mark atop the Capital Athletic Conference.

The Sea Gulls led by as many as seven points at several points in the game, and held a 32-30 advantage at the half. The Captains finally pulled even at 40-40 with just under 13 minutes to play in the second half, and from there dominated and built the lead to as many as 16 at 69-53. The Gulls, now 5-1 overall and 0-1 in the CAC, ended up being out-scored in the second stanza, 41-28.

"It wasn't anything I said at halftime, but we certainly turned it up a notch in the second half," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "Our intensity was much stronger and we hit some big shots. Salisbury is a very good team, and this is a great win."

McFarland led the second half surge by scoring 18 of his 27 points in the final 20 minutes. The sophomore, who had scored 22 points twice in games last season as a freshman, drilled four of his five three-point field goals in the second half.

Fellow sophomore Marcus Carter added 13 points, and junior Kevin Regimbal contributed a dozen. Junior Tim Daly pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds as the Captains out-rebounded the Sea Gulls, 37-27, and held Salisbury to just 33 percent shooting (10 of 30) in the second half.

"Our defense has been very good and that's what we count on," Krikorian continued. "We really got after them in the second half and that gets the offense going."

CNU has the second-ranked defense in the nation this week, allowing just 55 points per game heading into Wednesday night's action. The Captains were also eighth in the country in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 35 percent shooting from the field.

A crowd of 947 watched the Captains go to 4-0 at home this season. CNU has now won seven straight games at the Freeman Center dating back to last season.

The Sea Gulls, ranked 17th in the nation this week, were led by senior Justin May's 13 points off the bench. Juniors Justin Witmer and Gordon Jeter added ten points each.

CNU now holds a 21-14 lead in the all-time series with Salisbury. The triumph snapped a three-game winning streak for the Sea Gulls, who captured all three meetings last season including a 58-57 verdict in the CAC's Championship Game.

The 5-0 start for the Captains is the first since the 2004-2005 CNU squad opened 5-0 on the way to an 18-8 finish. The last time the Captains opened with a 6-0 mark came in the 2001-2002 campaign that saw them go on to a 23-5 final record.

Christopher Newport puts its streak on the line on the road Saturday in a CAC game at Marymount University. Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m. at Verizon Sports Arena in Arlington, Va.