MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - Christopher Newport broke open a close game in the second half to win for the 18th time this season, recording a 69-53 triumph over Penn State-Harrisburg Saturday. Senior Aaron McFarland led the way with 25 points, with 18 coming during the second half, as the Captains improved to 18-5 overall and 12-4 in the Capital Athletic Conference. 

McFarland, who is tenth on the school's all-time scoring list, was the only Captain to reach double figures in the victory. He drained a trio of three-point field goals and finished the day eight of 16 from the field.

"We knew what we were getting into today," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "It was senior day and we knew that they would give us a good battle. I thought we did a really good job in the second half, and got tougher when we had to. Our big men had their hands full and we shuffled in a lot of people to get the job done."

The Captains, who trailed at halftime by a point, 28-27, out-scored the Lions in the second half, 42-25. Christopher Newport broke open a 30-30 game with a 9-2 run early in the second half and never allowed the Lions to get closer than three the rest of the way.

Christopher Newport knocked down 15 of 26 shots in the second stanza (57.7 percent) and the Captains ended up shooting 47 percent for the day (24 of 51). CNU out-rebounded Penn State-Harrisburg, 42-38, and the Captains were led on the boards by freshman Jason Aigner's nine rebounds.

Penn State-Harrisburg, now 6-17 overall and 2-14 in the CAC, was led by senior Tariq Bennett's 17 points. Bennett, who made his first start of the season, was one of three Lions honored before the game on senior day at Capital Union Building.

Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Captains are tied for second in the CAC standings with Salisbury at 12-4. The teams now trail league-leading York College by just one game with two games to play. 

Christopher Newport will travel to Fredericksburg on Wednesday to take on Mary Washington. Tipoff time is set for 8:00 p.m. The Eagles had a six-game winning streak snapped on Saturday and have dropped to fourth place in the standings at 11-5 in the CAC. The Captains will then conclude the regular season next Saturday, February 17th, when they host York College at the Freeman Center in an 8:00 p.m. start.