NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The Captains of Christopher Newport won a game and then a coin flip on Wednesday night. The Captains concluded the regular season schedule with an 84-66 victory over Southern Virginia at the Freeman Center. The victory gave the Captains a Capital Athletic Conference Co-Championship with York College, and following the game Christopher Newport won a coin flip to become the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament. This marks the fifth straight season the Captains have won or tied for a CAC regular-season title.

The Captains, 20-5 and 9-1, will host a CAC Semifinal game next Wednesday, February 26th, at 6:00 p.m. against the winner of this Saturday's Salisbury/St. Mary's quarterfinal game, which will be played in Salisbury, Md. The top seed guarantees the Captains would also host the Conference Championship game on Saturday, February 29th, if they advance with a victory on Wednesday. The Captains have won three of the last four CAC Tournament titles.

Senior Dalon McHugh II posted his ninth double-double of the season with 16 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Captains over the Knights. Junior Adrian Beasley also finished with 16 points, while senior Luther Gibbs and junior Jason Aigner both contributed 14 points.

The Captains opened a 15-point lead at halftime, 42-27, and then extended the advantage to as many as 26 in the second half, 64-38, before the Knights stormed back. Southern Virginia, 1-24 and 0-10, cut the lead down to 11 before the Captains pulled away to the 18-point verdict.

"We have a lot of respect for Southern Virginia," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "They just come out and play, you'd never know what their record is or where they are in the standings...they just keep battling you. We had to rally in the second half and it wasn't easy to put this away."

The Captains made 57 percent of their overall shots (33 of 58) as well as their three-point attempts (10 of 28). Southern Virginia held a 33-32 edge on the boards, becoming the first team this season to out-rebound the Captains. Christopher Newport's defense held SVU to 41 percent shooting for the night (23 of 56), and forced 18 Knights turnovers. Southern Virginia was led in scoring by Ricky Stafford's 18 points.

In addition to 14 points from Luther Gibbs, the senior also filled his stat line with nine assists, six rebounds, six steals, and two blocks...all in 28 minutes of playing time. 

The triumph pushed the Captains to the 20-win plateau for the sixth straight season, and the eighth in ten years under Krikorian. It also marked the 20th 20-win season in the 53-year history of the program. The victory also improved the Captains record at home this season to 12-1.

"We've got a week to work on ourselves and get ready for the tournament," Krikorian continued. "We won't know who we're playing until Saturday so we'll work hard to get better and then begin planning for the opposition."

Both the Christopher Newport men and women will be top-seeded in the upcoming CAC Tournament. The men's semifinal game next Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. will be followed by the women's semifinal at 8:00 p.m. Tickets for the CAC Tournament doubleheader next Wednesday at the Freeman Center will go on sale Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. in the Freeman Center Ticket Office.