NEWPORT NEWS, Va.- Christopher Newport survived a sluggish performance Tuesday night, and held off Shenandoah at the Freeman Center, 80-69. The Captains improved to 9-0 on the season, and will play Scranton on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. in the Championship game of the Crowne Plaza Captains Shootout. Scranton (7-2) defeated Stevenson, 81-64, in the opener of the tournament.

The Captains, ranked 11th in the nation, opened their biggest lead (19 points) with 5:45 to play in the second half. The scrappy Hornets, though, would not go quietly and cut the lead down to seven in the final minutes before the Captains were able to pull away for the 11-point triumph.

"They played like they wanted it more than we did," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "This was not a good night for us, we didn't improve, and that's going to happen once in a while. Now we need to bounce back and get after it against Scranton."

Sophomore Aaron McFarland knocked down six three-pointers and led the way with 24 points. It was the fifth straight game McFarland has led CNU in scoring. Fellow sophomore Marcus Carter posted his second straight double-double, contributing 16 points and 12 rebounds. In addition, Carter registered five assists, three blocks, and two steals. Junior Tim Daly was also in double figures with 12 points.

Shenandoah, now 3-7, out-rebounded the Captains, 43-40, to become the first opponent this season to do so. The Hornets also had three players in double figures led by Malcolm Clark's 19 points and 11 rebounds. The Hornets will play Stevenson Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. in the third-place game of the two-day tournament.

CNU struggled from the field, making just 37 percent of its shots for the nght (25 of 67). McFarland made six of eight attempts from behind the three-point line, but the rest of the squad managed to make just two of 19 from beyond the arc. Shenandoah's shooting improved as the game progressed, and the Hornets ended up making 42 percent (24 of 57) thanks to 56 percent shooting in the second half (15 of 27).

"I give Shenandoah a lot of credit," Krikorian continued. "They played harder than we did...out-rebounded us and out-hustled us. I'm not going to blame the holiday break for our play because Shenandoah just had a break too. We've got to get back to playing with intensity and passion."

The game featured eight lead changes in the first half as the teams went back-and-forth. With the game tied at 12-12, the Captains went on a 15-2 run to take a 27-14 advantage that they would never relinquish. Christopher Newport held a 37-24 lead at halftime.

McFarland's second-half effort led the Captains to victory as four of his six three-pointers and 16 of his 24 points came in the second stanza.

The Captains are now 5-0 at home this season and have won eight straight games at the Freeman Center dating back to last season.

CNU now leads the all-time series with Shenandoah, 46-13, and the Captains have won the last seven meetings. The schools used to meet regularly as members of the Dixie and later the USA South Athletic Conference. SU is now a member of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference while CNU is in the Capital.

Wednesday's schedule features Stevenson playing Shenandoah at 4:00 p.m. in the third-place game and the CNU-Scranton matchiup at 6:00 p.m. for the title at the Freeman Center.