ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. - Christopher Newport cruised to a 76-52 victory over St. Mary's Wednesday night at the O'Brien Athletics & Recreation Center, as CNU bounced back from an overtime loss at home to Frostburg State on Saturday. Senior Aaron McFarland led the way with 22 points, followed by senior center Spencer Marin's 19 points and nine rebounds as the Captains improved to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the Capital Athletic Conference.

"Our transition defense was much better in the second half, and that really seemed to wear them down," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "Our rebounding after halftime along with minimizing our turnovers allowed us to pull away."

CNU used a 13-5 run late in the first half to open up a 37-29 advantage at halftime. The Captains continued the surge as the second half began, registering a 14-5 run to grab a 51-34 lead. St. Mary's could get no closer than eight the rest of the way as the Seahawks fell to 1-6 overall and 0-3 in the CAC. The loss was the sixth straight for St. Mary's after opening the season with a victory over Gallaudet.

Marin, who made nine of ten shots in 25 minutes of playing time, recorded a new career high with his 19-point effort. McFarland was seven for 11 shooting for the night and made five three-pointers in seven tries. Freshman Adrian Beasley made his first start, and responded by recording nine points and six rebounds in 25 minutes of playing time.

"The best part of Adrian's stat line was zero turnovers," Krikorian continued. "That's really important for us right now and we're trying to figure that out. Overall we did a good job with only 13 tonight."

Christopher Newport made 31 of 61 shots in the game (50.8 percent), and eight of 19 from behind the arc (42.1 percent). The Captains were out-rebounded in the opening half, 14-13, but used a 26-11 advantage in the second stanza to finish with a 39-25 edge on the boards. 

Senior Donovan Robinson came off the bench to lead St. Mary's in scoring with 12 points. The Captains forced 16 Seahawks turnovers and held St. Mary's to just 40.7 percent shooting (22 of 54) for the evening. CNU now has won 14 of 23 all-time meetings with St. Mary's, and the victory was the seventh straight for the Captains in the series.

Christopher Newport was again without senior Marcus Carter and sophomore Cutch Ellis due to ankle injuries. The Captains return home to play Wesley College on Sunday. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m. at the Freeman Center.