NEWPORT NEWS, Va.- Christopher Newport's winning streak was snapped at nine Wednesday night, as the 11th-ranked Captains were beaten by the University of Scranton at the Freeman Center. The Royals, now 8-2, posted a hard-fought 65-58 victory in the Championship Game of the Crowne Plaza Captains Shootout.

CNU, now 9-1, led by as many as six in the opening half but held just a three-point lead at the half, 33-30. The Captains fell victim to poor second half shooting as CNU made just 10 of 30 shots after the intermission. The Royals were led by sophomore point guard Kevin Doolan, who scored 15 points and was named MVP of the two-day tournament.

"We go into every game with goals, and we accomplished all of them in this game," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "We just didn't make enough shots to get the win. I'm not at all upset with our effort or our intensity. Scranton is a good team and they made more shots than we did."

Junior guard Kevin Regimbal led the Captains with a career-high 18 points. Sophomore Aaron McFarland scored ten and was named to the All-Tournament squad. Sophomore Marcus Carter also finished with ten points.

The final seven-point verdict marked the biggest lead of the game for either team. The seasaw battle featured 13 lead changes.

Scranton was able to pull out the win despite foul trouble for two key players, Brendan Boken and John Vitkus, who both missed that latter stages of the first half after picking up their third personals. Both Boken, who was held to eight points, and Vitkus, who scored all ten of his points in the second half, fouled out in the game's final two minutes. CNU was not able to capitalize on their absence in either half.

Christopher Newport out-rebounded Scranton, 28-26, but didn't have anyone with more than four for the game. Senior Hunter Wetherell and Regimbal each posted four boards.

The loss for the Captains snapped an eight-game home winning streak for CNU that stretched back to last season.

"This is the kind of game that we'll get a lot out of," Krikorian continued. "In the long run this will make us better. We've got to get ready now for conference play and keep improving."

CNU has 15 games remaining, and all will be Capital Athletic Conference contests. The New Year will open for CNU on Saturday as the Captains host Southern Virginia at the Freeman Center. Tipoff time is set for 4:00 p.m. The Knights will enter Saturday's contest with a 3-7 mark.