FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - The Christopher Newport men's basketball team held off Mary Washington Wednesday night at the Anderson Center, 58-54. The victory keeps the Captains in a third-place tie with Salisbury in the Capital Athletic Conference standings with three games to play in the regular season.
"I give Mary Washington a lot of credit, they're a scrappy team that plays hard," Head Coach
John Krikorian said following the road victory. "We really had to battle to get this one, just as we thought we would."
CNU improved to 16-6 overall and 11-4 in CAC action. The Captains held a three-point lead at halftime, 23-20, and then built a 14-point lead midway through the second half, 37-23, before the Eagles rallied.
Mary Washington, now 5-17 overall and 5-10 in conference play, cut the lead as close as two down the stretch before the Captains sealed the win.
Freshman
Aaron McFarland, a Fredericksburg area product, led the CNU attack with 19 points, with 13 coming in the second half. McFarland sank two free throws late to help put the game on ice. Sophomore
Kevin Regimbal finished with 10 points and also converted three of four free throw attempts in the second half.
CNU saw the return of leading scorers and rebounders
Marcus Carter and
Tim Daly from recent injuries. Neither started the game but both saw considerable playing time with Daly scoring nine points and Carter adding four.
"It was good to have Marcus and Tim back," Krikorian continued. "They both really showed a lot of good things even though they were both playing through some pain."
The Captains out-rebounded the Eagles, 35-30, with sophomore guard
Rayshard Brown leading the way with seven boards. Brown also posted six points on three driving layups in the second stanza.
"Rayshard was a big key for us tonight," Krikorian said. "He got to the basket when we really needed some points and gave us a big lift."
Freshman Eric Shaw and senior Taylor Johnson led the charge for Mary Washington. Shaw registered 23 points and Johnson scored 12, all in the second half.
The triumph was the second four-point win this season for the Captains over the Eagles. CNU beat UMW at the Freeman Center, 53-49, on January 21
st.
Christopher Newport plays its final home regular season game Saturday, hosting Marymount at the Freeman Center. It will be Senior Day with tipoff set for 4:00 p.m.
