SALISBURY, MD. - Christopher Newport and Salisbury have played some memorable games over the last few years, and Saturday's matchup at the Maggs Center again lived up to its pre-game billing. The two Top 10 squads went to the wire, with the tenth-ranked Sea Gulls walking away with a dramatic victory.

With the Captains leading 58-56 with 2.9 seconds remaining in the second half, Salisbury junior Chad Barcikowski launched a half-court shot on the buzzer that hit nothing but net to give the Sea Gulls a 59-58 triumph.

Salisbury improved to 8-0 with the victory, and 4-0 atop the Capital Athletic Conference. The Captains, ranked fifth in the country, are now 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the CAC.

CNU called a timeout and senior Kevin Regimbal intentionally missed his second free throw attempt after putting the Captains ahead by two with a made free throw. Barcikowski snagged the rebound of Regimbal's free throw and advanced the ball to mid-court before letting the shot fly.

"This is all on me, it was my call," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "Obviously it took a tremendous shot to beat us, and I'm really proud of my kids for the way they battled today."

The loss is the first conference loss for the Captains since February 28, 2015, when the Captains lost to the Sea Gulls in the CAC Championship. It's the first regular-season defeat since February 18, 2015, when the Captains lost at St. Mary's. CNU had won 23 straight games against CAC foes.

Junior Aaron McFarland led the Captains with 15 points, with a dozen coming in the first half. Regimbal added 14 points, and senior Rayshard Brown posted nine points and 11 rebounds.

The Captains led by as many as ten in the first half, 30-20, before the Sea Gulls trimmed the lead to seven at the half, 33-26. CNU went up by as many as eight in the early second half, 36-28, and led 45-37 with just under 14 minutes to play.  

Salisbury then went on a 19-7 run to jump ahead by four, 56-52, with 2:45 to play. Regimbal drained a three-pointer with just over a minute to play to put the Captains back in front, 57-56, setting up the dramatic finish.

Barcikowski finished the game with nine points, all coming on three-point field goals. Senior Wyatt Smith led the Gulls with 17 points and eight boards.

Christopher Newport led the game for over 33 minutes despite shooting just 31 percent for the day, 19 of 61. The Captains out-rebounded Salisbury for the afternoon, 44-38.

CNU won all three games last season over Salisbury, with two of the three going to overtime. The last seven meetings of the schools have been decided by an average of 3.9 points, with three of the seven going to overtime. 

The Captains return to play on December 28th against Pitt-Greensburg at the Freeman Center in the opening round of the Crowne Plaza Captains Shootout. Tipoff time is set for 7:30 p.m.