Game Notes
HONOLULU, Hawaii -- A clash of two of the nation's top-ranked teams will headline the 2017 Hoop N' Surf Classic in Hawaii this week, as second-ranked Christopher Newport will take on 10th-ranked Thomas More College on Wednesday, December 20. The Captains (8-0) will also face Willamette University on Thursday, December 21 to wrap up the business portion of their trip to the tropical islands.
The Hoop N' Surf Classic will be played at St. Francis High School in the capital city of Hawaii on the island of Oahu. There will not be any live coverage of the action, but a full recap and statistics will be available at CNUsports.com following each game.
The top-ten showdown between Christopher Newport and Thomas More will tip off at 1:00 pm locally and 6:00 pm Eastern. Then, on Thursday, the Captains will tip off against Willamette at 11:00 am/4:00 pm EST.
CNU has won their first eight games of the season, matching 1985-86 with the fourth longest win streak to open a year. The Captains sterling 8-0 record has come while outscoring opponents by an average of 26.7 points per game. That margin ranks seventh nationally and is powered by the seventh ranked scoring defense in the nation, holding opponents to just 45.8 points per game. The stifling defense has allowed more than 60 points in a game once and ranks third nationally in turnovers forced this season.
Thomas More comes into this week with an 8-1 record, including the program's first regular season loss since 2012. Like CNU, the Saints are also among the national leaders in scoring margin, ranking fourth while outscoring opponents by an average of 31.6 points per game. Conversely to the Captains, the Saints have been led by a scorching offense that ranks fourth nationally with 83.4 points per game. Particularly dangerous from outside, Thomas More ranks sixth nationally in three-point field goal percentage and 14th in makes from beyond the arc.
The Captains will have their hands full defending the permiter as Willamette University also ranks in the top 25 nationally in three-pointers made per game. The Bearcats will come into the tournament with a 4-4 record and faces Thomas More on Tuesday, December 19. Willamette, out of Salem, Oregon, and Christopher Newport will be facing for the first time in program history.
This will be the second time the Captains have faced Thomas More in the Hoop N' Surf Classic and only the second meeting ever between the two programs. The Saints, based in Crestview Hills, Kentucky, defeated CNU in the 2010-11 regular season before the Captains staged the program's first ever run to the NCAA Final Four.
After the holiday trip to the Aloha State, the Captains will return to the Commonwealth to wrap up non-conference play on New Year's Eve. CNU will travel to Virginia Wesleyan University on December 31 for a 1:00 pm tip against the Marlins.
