NEWPORT NEWS, Va.- In a game that came down to the final shot, Christopher Newport held on Thursday night to beat St. Mary's College of Maryland, 57-56, in a Capital Athletic Conference semi-final at the Freeman Center. The fifth-ranked Captains will now play Salisbury University Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at the Freeman Center in the CAC's Championship Game. Salisbury beat Mary Washington, 83-78, in the other semi-final game in Salisbury, MD.

CNU improved to 25-1 with the victory, and the win was the 16th straight for the Captains...but it was far from easy.

Seahawks senior Tanner Brooks launched a three-point attempt from just inside midcourt that went off the rim as time expired, and the Captains had their ticket punched for their third CAC title game in as many years.

"This is a game we'll learn a lot from," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "We haven't been in this situation before this season, so we haven't had to handle the pressure like we did tonight. Our effort was good, but we didn't execute well. I give St. Mary's a lot of credit, they played hard and gave us all we could handle."

Junior Tim Daly led the CNU attack with 15 points and also pulled down nine rebounds.

The Captains opened a seven-point lead in the first half, before the Seahawks stormed back and created a seasaw battle. CNU held a two-point edge at halftime, 29-27. St. Mary's then grabbed the lead early in the second half and built the advantage to as many as six with 12 minutes to go, 42-36.  The Captains rallied and went on a 13-0 run to build a 49-42 lead with six minutes to play.

But the Seahawks weren't done yet. Despite losing two key players, Donya Jackson and Marsalis Hurley, due to foul-outs, the Hawks kept chipping away. After CNU pushed the lead to eight, 53-45, with 3:39 to go, St. Mary's managed to keep the game close to the final buzzer without ever going back ahead. The Seahawks, who finished the season with a 13-14 record, were led by sophomore Delaszo Smith's 26 points. Smith, who scored 27 against CNU earlier this year in St. Mary's City, MD., played all 40 minutes.

The Captains also aided the Seahawks cause by missing foul shots down the stretch, helping to keep the game within reach. CNU sophomore Marcus Carter posted his fifth double-double of the season with 11 points and 15 rebounds, despite being held to four of 14 shooting for the night.

"Marcus was frustrated by the way things went most of the night," Krikorian continued. "But he still came up with some big rebounds and really helped us in a lot of ways."

While the CNU defense held St. Mary's to 56 points, the Seahawks shot 49 percent for the game (24 of 49) from the field. The Captains allow just 60 points per game on average, but hold their opponents to 38 percent shooting for the season.

Christopher Newport will be looking for its first CAC post-season title Saturday after losing in the championship game on the road the last two years at Mary Washington and Salisbury. The Captains will look for revenge against the Sea Gulls, who won last year's title game in dramatic fashion in Salisbury, MD.

CNU's total of 25 victories is just one shy of the all-time school single-season record. The Captains won 26 games in the 1997-98 season, when they lost their opener and then won 26 straight before losing in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament to finish 26-2.

Tickets for Saturday's title game will be available at the Freeman Center Ticket Office on Friday, and will also be sold at the Freeman Center Saturday. Doors will open at 1:00 p.m. for the 2:00 p.m. tipoff.