YORK, Pa. - Christopher Newport gave undefeated York College a battle Saturday, but came up short. The Captains, who briefly grabbed the lead in the second half, saw the Spartans bounce back to claim a 79-69 victory. York, ranked eighth in the nation, improved to 15-0 overall and 8-0 atop the Capital Athletic Conference. CNU is now 11-4 overall and 5-3 in the CAC.

"I was very proud of how we competed today," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "We made too many mistakes, but I thought our effort was good and we challenged them. It's only January 13th, and nobody is cutting down any nets yet. A lot of our guys really stepped up their game today, and we're improving. There's a lot of basketball left."

York jumped to an early 11-2 lead and held a 39-33 advantage at the half. The Captains surged ahead at the 17:23 mark of the second half, 44-43, but the Spartans answered with three straight three-pointers to go ahead, 52-44. The Captains continued to battle from behind, eventually getting the lead down to two, 68-66, with 3:45 to play. From there, York out-scored CNU 11-3 for the 79-69 final verdict.

Christopher Newport's big men, senior Spencer Marin and sophomore Savonte Chappell, led the Captains in scoring with 12 points each. Marin also grabbed eight rebounds. Freshman Jason Aigner also reached double digits with ten points. Sophomore Luther Gibbs recorded eight points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

York senior Matt Scamuffo led all scorers with 18 points as all five Spartans starters reached double figures. CNU managed to out-rebound the Spartans, 35-33, but CNU shot just 40 percent for the game to York's 54 percent from the field.

The teams combined for 17 three-point field goals. The Captains knocked down eight of 25 shots from long range, while York connected on nine of 23 from behind the line. York made 20 of 26 free throws while CNU sank seven of nine attempts at the charity stripe. York's victory snapped a nine-game CNU winning streak in the all-time series, which CNU now leads, 9-2.

The game at Charles Wolf Gymnasium was played in front of 1,810 fans and ended a three-game road stretch for the Captains. Christopher Newport returns home to host Mary Washington on Wednesday. Game time is set for 7:30 at the Freeman Center. 

CNU and York will meet again to conclude the regular season at the Freeman Center on Saturday, February 17th.