LYNCHBURG, Va. - Christopher Newport defeated Randolph Saturday, 82-48, in the opening game of the Wayne Proffitt Classic at Lynchburg University's Turner Gymnasium. The Captains, ranked 22nd in the country, improved to 6-0 using a dominant effort on both offense and defense in the first meeting ever with the WildCats.

Senior Marcus Carter led the team in scoring for the fifth time in six games this year with 18 points and also topped the squad with eight rebounds. Junior Cutch Ellis, coming off a career-high 20 points at Shenandoah Wednesday night, added 15 and junior Savonte Chappell and freshman Elijah Bowens also reached double digits with ten points each.

"I was really pleased with what we did today," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "Our effort and our focus was good and we had a lot of people step up. Defensively, we did a great job on their top scorer (Sammy) Hooper and really made it difficult for them at the offensive end."

CNU never trailed in the game, and used a 16-3 run in the first half to open the lead to as many as 16 before the intermission. After leading 36-22 at the break, the Captains out-scored the WildCats, 46-26, in the second half to coast to the 34-point triumph.

Carter, who is 11th on CNU's all-time scoring list, knocked down four three-pointers with three coming in the second half. He finished the day seven-of-14 from the field and four-of-eight from beyond the arc.

Christopher Newport shot 41 percent from the field (28 of 60) and made 11 of 28 three-point attempts. CNU's defense held Randolph to just 31 percent shooting (18 of 59) and the Captains out-rebounded the WildCats, 45-30. CNU has out-rebounded all six opponents so far this season.

A dozen Captains got into the scoring column, and all 17 dressed saw playing time. It's the first time since the 2015-2016 season the Captains have opened with six straight victories. CNU won its first nine games that year en route to a 30-2 final record and a Final Four appearance.

Randolph is now 4-3 and the WildCats were led by junior Brian Smith's nine points. Hooper, who came into the contest averaging a team-high 17 points per game, was held to just seven points on three-of-12 shooting.

Christopher Newport will play Lynchburg University on Sunday in the final game of the two-day classic. It will be a battle of two 6-0 teams, as Lynchburg defeated Mary Washington on Saturday, 69-64, in the second game of the classic.