NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport improved to 3-0 to start the season Saturday, posting a 73-59 victory over Methodist in the first round of the Holiday Inn/CNU Invitational at the Freeman Center. The Captains will play John Carroll, also 3-0, on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. for the Championship of the two-day tournament. The Blue Streaks defeated Thomas More, 79-74, in the other first round game Saturday afternoon.

Senior Marcus Carter led the way for CNU, scoring 16 of his game-high 19 points in the second half. Carter also led the Captains in rebounding with eight and blocked three shots. Sophomore Jason Aigner drained four three-pointers and finished with 16 points for the Captains.

"I thought we did a pretty good job overall, especially defending them," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "The game was just about exactly what we expected. We knew we had to do a good job on their sophomore point guard (Dante Burden) and we were able to hold him to eight points. Our offense is still coming along, but overall I liked our effort and the result."

The Captains jumped ahead early in the contest, 5-4, and never trailed again. CNU held a 34-24 lead at the intermission, and went ahead by as many as 21 in the second stanza, 71-50. CNU's defense held Methodist to just 32 percent shooting for the day (20 of 62), and the Captains held a 42-41 edge in the rebounding column. Christopher Newport had a terrific day at the foul stripe, making 18 of 20 free throws.

The Captains have recorded three straight stellar defensive performances to start the new season. CNU has held each of its first three opponents to less than 60 points. Methodist, now 1-3, was led by sophomore Garren Dearman's 20 points. Christopher Newport now holds a 66-25 lead in the all-time series with Methodist, and the Captains have won 11 straight games over the Monarchs. The schools competed regularly when they were both members of the USA South Athletic Conference, but had not played since the 2012-2013 season.

"We're going to have to defend well again to beat a team like John Carroll on Sunday," Krikorian continued. "They made 15 three-pointers and put up 34 total threes...so we'll be tested on the perimeter." 

Sunday will be a busy day of basketball at the Freeman Center. The first game of the day tips off at 12:00 p.m. as Methodist will play Thomas More in the third-place game of the CNU Invitational. The Christopher Newport women's team, 4-0 to start the season, will play Meredith at 2:00 p.m. The Championship game of the CNU Invitational will start at approximately 4:00 p.m. as the Captains play John Carroll.

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