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OSWEGO, NY- For the first time in the 49-year history of the Christopher Newport men's basketball program, the Captains are headed to the Division III Final Four. CNU posted an 81-61 victory Saturday night over the College of Wooster (OH) at Oswego State University's Max Ziel Gymnasium.

The win marked the 21st straight for the Captains, who will head to Salem, Virginia, next weekend with a 30-1 record. The Captains will play St. Thomas of Minnesota Friday nght at 7:30 in a national semi-final at the Salem Civic Center.

"This is just amazing," Head Coach John Krikorian said as his team celebrated on the court in front of him. "These guys play so well together and love playing so much...it's been an incredible journey. Now, we've got two more games to go."

CNU never trailed in the Elite 8 matchup, jumped to an early 22-10 advantage, and eventually led by as many as 22 in the opening half, 36-14. The Fighting Scots were able to close the gap to 36-19 at halftime.

Wooster then cut the lead as close as six in the second stanza, 54-48, before the fourth-ranked Captains closed the game on a 27-13 run for the 20-point wire-to-wire triumph.

Sophomore Marcus Carter exploded for 16 of his 22 points in the second half, marking his second straight 22-point performance in Oswego. Carter also pulled down seven rebounds, and posted four blocks and three steals. Junior Tim Daly recorded his sixth double-double of the season, finishing with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

"This is a dream come true," Daly said. "We knew Wooster would be a tough opponent, but we were able to play our game and work together to get the job done."

Sophomore Aaron McFarland added 11 points and junior Kevin Regimbal scored ten.

The Captains made 29 of 54 shots (.537) while holding Wooster to just 37 percent shooting for the night (20 of 54).

"I thought our defense was really good all night," Krikorian continued. "We knew they would make a run in the second half, and I thought we handled it pretty well. "

The College of Wooster was led by sophomore Spencer Williams' 19 points. The Scots concluded the season with a 24-8 mark.

CNU is now 14-0 away from the Freeman Center this season, and will take on a St. Thomas squad that is ranked eighth in the country...and ousted the top team in the nation, Augustana, Saturday night. The Tommies are now 28-3 on the season, and will be appearing in the Final Four for the third time in the last six seasons.

Second-ranked Benedictine (31-0) will take on 15th ranked Amherst (26-5) in the other national semi-final Friday in Salem.

The Captains began their incredible journey with a 9-0 record before losing to Scranton at the Freeman Center on December 30th. CNU has since won 21 straight since, becoming just the second program in Capital Athletic Conference history to go undefeated in a regular season, and winning the CAC title for the first time in three years of league membership.

Christopher Newport was appearing in the Elite 8 Saturday night for just the second time in program history. The 2001 Captains were beaten in overtime by William Paterson (NJ) at the Freeman Center in CNU's only other appearance.

The Final Four trip comes in CNU's 20th all-time NCAA appearance. The Captains are now 15-20 all-time in NCAA games.