BUENA VISTA, Va. - Christopher Newport wrapped up its second straight Capital Athletic Conference regular-season title Wednesday night. The Captains, ranked third in the nation, won their 16^th straight game with a 69-45 verdict over Southern Virginia. Coupled with Salisbury's loss at St. Mary's, the Captains clinched the conference title by virtue of a two-game lead with just one game remaining in the regular season.

The Captains, now 22-2 overall and 16-1 in the CAC, were led by junior Marcus Carter's 14 points. Seniors Kevin Regimbal (11) and Tim Daly (10) were also in double figures.

"This is a great accomplishment for our program," head coach John Krikorian said after the game. "We still have much work to do, but winning the regular season championship is a great testament to the effort this team has put in all season long."

The Captains, who led 38-21 at halftime opened the second half with a 13-0 run and never looked back. CNU trailed to start the game 3-0 but grabbed the lead less than two minutes in on a Tim Daly layup which put the Captains ahead 5-3. Christopher Newport never trailed again. Daly's 10 first-half points paced both teams and set the tone for the physical contest. 

Carter, an all-American a year ago, not only scored 14 points, but filled up the stat sheet by posting 8 rebounds, 4 blocks 3 steals and an assist in 21 minutes of playing time. 

Christopher Newport's defense, tops in the nation in defensive field goal percentage, held the Knights to 24% shooting (14 of 58). It also marked the 17th time in 24 games that the Captains have held their opponents to 60 points or less. 

"I could not be prouder of our defensive effort. These guys have really bought in," Krikorian added. "It is such a confidence builder when you get stops the way we do. Southern Virginia is really scrappy and do a good job on the boards."

The teams ended up even in the rebounding column with both sides collecting 38 missed shots.

CNU knocked down 8 of 21 shots from beyond the arc including five of 10 in the second stanza as the Captains extended the halftime lead. Regimbal knocked down three of the five made threes in the second.

Southern Virginia, now 4-20 overall and 2-15 in the CAC, was led by 10 points and 9 rebounds from Cale Thornton. The Knights will conclude their season Saturday against St. Mary's.

With the win, Christopher Newport is now 14-1 all-time against Southern Virginia and the Captains have captured the last four meetings. Additionally, the win, coupled with a 85-73 Salisbury loss at St. Mary's (Md.) assures CNU the top seed in the CAC tournament beginning next week and that Christopher Newport will host a semifinal game Thursday, February 23 at the Freeman Center. 

The Captains will finish the regular season Saturday at York College of Pennsylvania in a game scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on Xtra 99.1 FM and will be webcast in high definition on CNUsports.com/LIVE. The pre-game show will begin at approximately 2:40 p.m.