FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - Christopher Newport ran its winning streak to 12 games Wednesday, as the third-ranked Captains held off Mary Washington, 73-63. CNU improved to 18-2 on the season and 12-1 atop the Capital Athletic Conference with the road victory at Ron Rosner Arena.

Junior Aaron McFarland pumped in 24 points to lead the Captains, with 22 coming in the second half. McFarland knocked down four three-point field goals in the second stanza as Christopher Newport opened the lead to as many as 15.

Mary Washington, now 10-10 overall and 6-7 in the CAC, was led by junior Eric Shaw, who led all scorers with 25 points.

"Shaw really created a mismatch for us," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "We had some tired legs, and had to use some different lineups than we usually do. But overall I was really happy with our effort. Obviously, Aaron hit some big shots and helped us maintain the lead through the second half."

Mary Washington held a 13-12 lead in the first half, but fell behind and never took the lead again. The Captains went up by as many as seven in the opening half, 24-17, but had the advantage cut to three at halftime, 31-28. CNU then started the second half with an 8-0 run to grab a 39-28 advantage, and the Eagles could not get closer than nine the rest of the way.

CNU's stingy defense held UMW to under 30 percent shooting for the night as the Eagles made just 19 of 64 shots. Christopher Newport is second in the country in opponent field goal percentage as well as points allowed.

McFarland, who made seven of 11 shots taken, drained four of six attempts behind the three-point line. He was the only Captain to reach double figures, and the Captains ended up making 11 of 20 shots from long range. Senior Kevin Regimbal topped the squad in rebounds with a career-high ten for the night.

The victory was the sixth straight for the Captains over Mary Washington, and CNU now holds a 25-6 advantage in the all-time series.

CNU maintained its lead in the conference with the triumph. Salisbury won as well on Wednesday night, beating Wesley, 81-70, to improve to 11-2 in the CAC, a game back of the Captains with five to play.

Christopher Newport travels to St. Mary's City, Md., on Saturday for a 4:00 p.m. tipoff with St. Mary's College.