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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Coaching in his 252nd game at Christopher Newport University, head coach John Krikorian and the Captains needed all 40 minutes to capture win number 200 in his career, holding on for an exciting 67-64 victory at home against Southern Virginia University (4-18, 0-11). The first-place Captains improved to 19-3 overall and 9-2 in conference action in a back-and-forth contest that never saw a lead of more than nine points in the game. 

Krikorian improves to 200-52 in his ninth season at CNU for an overall winning percentage of over 79%, which ranks 11th among active Division III head coaches. Combined with his tenure at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Krikorian now boasts an overall winning record of 265-94 (.738). The Captains guide since 2010-11, Krikorian has averaged over 22 wins per season with five NCAA Tournament appearances in his first eight completed seasons. 

The milestone victory would not come easily, despite Christopher Newport's decided advantage in the league standings, as the Knights of Southern Virginia battled until the final possession before CNU escaped with the conference win. Sophomore Jason Aigner registered his third straight 20-point performance and raised his career-high scoring output to 27 points in the win, including a pair of pivotal free-throws with 5.6 seconds remaining in the game. 

Marcus Carter also narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds while moving up another slot on the all-time scoring chart at CNU. With his sixth point of the evening, which came on a free-throw early in the second half, Carter passed CNU Hall of Famer Davon Barton for 8th on the all-time list.

In the first half, neither team led by more than two possessions as the Captains opened a six-point advantage on back-to-back runners in the lane by Aigner with a little over six minutes left in the frame. From there, the Knights went on a 13-3 run to close the half and took a four-point lead into the locker room, 31-27. 

CNU struggled from the field in the first half, knocking down just 23.8% of their shots (10-42), but did a stellar job on the glass, outrebounding the Knights 24-22 with 15 offensive rebounds. The Captains limited the red-hot shooting Southern Virginia squad to just 24 attempts from the field in the first half. Trey Dill led the way for the Knights, scoring 6 points and haulg in 8 rebounds while Tylre McCreadie added 6 points and 4 blocked shots. 

Coming out of the locker room, the Captains looked to take control with an 11-0 run to take a seven-point lead, 38-31. Carter went 1-for-2 from the free-throw line and Aigner hit a game-tying three within the first three minutes. Then, a pair of technical fouls issued to the Knights head coach sent Aigner to the line to break the tie with four free-throws. Tyler Femi then buried a triple to cap the run that saw CNU take what was then a game-high advantage. 

Southern Virginia responded with a 9-2 burst with six of the points scored by Jamier Cross before a three-pointer by Dill tied the game back up at 40. CNU teetered back in front with another triple by Aigner and a beautiful floater off the glass by rookie Elijah Bowens, but Dill and Alec Johnson answered to tie the game again at 45 with 8:32 remaining. 

Another run by the Captains looked to put the game in control of the home team as CNU went on a 12-3 surge to take a game-high lead at 57-48 with 4:24 remaining. Cutch Ellis had back-to-back layups to cap the run on feeds by Adrian Beasley and Tyler Femi. The Knights, though, continued to answer with big shots down the stretch to cut into the lead. After a layup by Cross cut the lead to 60-55, junior Dalon McHugh rushed to the basket on the other end with a finger-roll to give the Captains a seven-point edge with less than a minute to go.

A broken play set up an open three-pointer by Sam Armstrong, cutting the lead to four with 41 seconds remaining. CNU converted at the free-throw line behind Femi going 2-for-2, but the Knights traded two for three again when Armstrong buried another triple with 16.1 seconds left. After another foul, Carter went 1-for-2 at the line to give CNU a four-point edge, 65-61. Launching another contested three that rattled up off the backboard before falling back down was Jaron Anderson, keeping the Knights' hopes alive by cutting the score to 65-64. 

After another foul, Aigner was at the line needing to hit both free-throws to make sure the Captains were, at worst, headed to overtime with a buzzer-beating shot by the Knights. The sophomore connected on both with 5.7 seconds left and the Knights magic ended there despite a good look from the wing by Anderson that clanked off the front of the iron. 

CNU escaped with the three-point win, powered by another strong defensive effort that saw the Captains hold their opponent under 60 points until the final barrage of three-pointers in the last minute. Southern Virginia had 13 blocked shots and got a double-double from Trey Dill (14 pts, 13 reb). Leading scorer Jamier Cross finished with 19 points and 7 assists with just one turnover. 

On the Captains' end, Aigner's 27 came on 7-of-19 shooting while the sophomore guard was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. He added eight rebounds in 38 minutes of action for CNU while Carter and Ellis each added 12 boards to lead the team. 

Christopher Newport will return to action this Saturday, February 9 as they play host to Frostburg State University at 4:00 pm. Prior to the game, a special pre-game ceremony will be held honoring the three CNU seniors: Marcus Carter, Tyler Femi, and Logan Miller.

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