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SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Christopher Newport's men's basketball team got a good taste of the NCAA Tournament a year ago. The Captains reeled off four victories in the tournament and advanced to the Final Four in Salem for the first time in the history of the program.
The Captains, now in the 50th season of action, begin their 2017 NCAA journey Friday night. CNU, ranked second in the country, heads to Swarthmore College outside of Philadelphia for the opening rounds. The Captains play the Mustangs of Morrisville State (NY) with tipoff set for 6:00 p.m. It will be the first meeting ever between the schools, and the Mustangs are 22-6 heading into NCAA action.
The host school, Swarthmore (22-5), will tangle with Staten Island (21-6) at 8:00 p.m. in Friday's second game and then the winners will advance to play on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. The 64-team field will be cut to 16 by the end of play Saturday night.
Christopher Newport is riding a 19-game winning streak heading into the tourney.
John Krikorian's squad is 25-2 and coming off a dramatic 63-62 triumph over Salisbury last Saturday in the championship game of the Capital Athletic Conference tournament. Senior big man
Tim Daly sank the dramatic game-winning shot with 1.2 seconds remaining to give the Captains their second-straight CAC crown. Daly was named the league's Player of the Year on Tuesday, becoming the second straight CNU player to receive the award. Junior
Marcus Carter, last season's Player of the Year, was also a first team All-CAC selection. Senior
Kevin Regimbal and junior
Aaron McFarland were both named to the second team, and Krikorian received his second straight CAC Coach of the Year honor.
The Captains last season opened NCAA play at home and defeated Lycoming and NYU at the Freeman Center. CNU then traveled to Oswego, N.Y., and posted wins over Keene State and Wooster to advance to the Final Four. The Captains saw their season come to an end in the national semi-finals in Salem, losing to the eventual national champion, St. Thomas (MN). Christopher Newport has played 36 games all-time in the NCAA Tournament, and the Captains are 15-21 in tournament games.
Friday's game will be broadcast live on the Christopher Newport/Pepsi Radio Network (Xtra 99.1 FM) with the pre-game show beginning at 5:40 p.m.
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