SALSIBURY, MD. – In a Capital Athletic Conference Championship game that came down to the final second, the Christopher Newport men's basketball team saw its season come to a likely end Saturday with a heartbreaking 58-57 loss to Salisbury at the Maggs Center.
 
Salisbury junior forward Wyatt Smitth sank two free throws with seven-tenths of a second remaining in the game to give the Sea Gulls their first CAC title in 19 years. The Captains are now 20-8 and will await word if they will receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The bracket will be released on Monday morning. 
 
"This was a great battle, just as we expected it to be," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "I'm so proud of my guys…they did everything we asked them to today and all season for that matter…but today it came down to the last possession and they happened to have the ball."
 
CNU led almost the entire game before being turned away in the dramatic finish. Freshman Marcus Carter led the Captains with 15 points, while sophomore Tim Daly posted a double-double with 12 points and matched a career-high with 15 rebounds.
 
The Captains grabbed the lead early thanks to senior Mike Cherry's ten first-half points. Cherry, who finished the game with 12 points, knocked down two three-pointers and CNU jumped to a 19-12 lead.
 
"Mike Cherry's record over the last four years will be hard for any player to match at CNU," Krikorian continued. "He has been a great leader for this program and will be tremendously missed."
 
Salisbury responded after falling behind by seven and whittled the lead down as the first half came to a close. Sophomore Gordon Jeter's layup as the half ended gave the Sea Gulls their first lead of the night at halftime, 27-26.
 
Christopher Newport bounced back and re-gained the lead early in the second half. The Captains led by as many as six, 57-51, only to see the Gulls again come storming back.
 
Salisbury scored the final seven points, including Smith's clutch free throws, to capture the title and advance to the NCAA Tournament with a 20-7 record.
 
The Gulls were led by Jeter's 14 points, while Smith posted 12 points, the final two free throws coming after CNU took a timeout with seven-tenths of a second left on the clock. The Captains then inbounded the ball, but could not produce any late heroics, and many in the crowd of 1,110 stormed onto the court as the epic battle came to a close.
 
Salisbury ended up leading the game for a grand total of 28 seconds.
 
CNU out-rebounded Salisbury, 32-29, and the Captains shot 47 percent from the field (22 of 47). Christopher Newport made five of 13 three-point attempts, while Salisbury sank three of 12 from beyond the arc.
 
The loss for the Captains was the third in as many games this season vs. Salisbury. It marks the second straight season CNU has lost in the league's title game.