NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport cruised to its eighth straight win Wednesday afternoon, defeating Shenandoah University, 87-60, at the Freeman Center. The victory came on the opening day of the Hampton Inn & Suites/Captains Shootout. Five Captains reached double figures in scoring, and CNU never trailed in the 27-point triumph. John Krikorian's squad improved to 11-2 on the season, and the Captains are now 8-0 at home this year. 

"I thought it was a solid overall effort by our team," Krikorian said. "Coming back from the holiday break, you always have to be concerned about getting back into rhythm, but we got off to a good start, and then opened things up in the second half."

Christopher Newport jumped to a 9-2 early advantage, and pushed the lead to 20 later in the first half, 40-20. Shenandoah, now 2-8 on the year, cut the lead to 14 at halftime, 44-30, before CNU pulled away in the second half. The Captains out-scored the Hornets in the second stanza, 43-30, and went up by as many as 29 on the way to the 27-point final verdict.

Fifth-year senior Jason Aigner and freshman Ty Henderson led the Captains in scoring with 15 points each, followed by sophomore Trey Barber (14), sophomore Jahn Hines (11), and fifth-year senior Adrian Beasley (10) in double digits. Barber registered his second double-double of the season by pulling down 11 rebounds. Senior Darian Peterson also tallied 11 boards as the Captains out-rebounded the Hornets, 48-32. CNU is now 10-0 this season when winning the battle of the boards.

Christopher Newport out-scored Shenandoah in the paint, 50-22, and scored 26 points off 18 Hornets turnovers. SU was led by 17 points from junior Jaylen Williams, who came into the game averaging 23 per game, and 13 from junior Davion Roberts. The victory was the 11th straight for the Captains in the series with Shenandoah, which dates back to January of 1971. Christopher Newport now holds a 49-13 lead over their former league rival from the Dixie and USA South Athletic Conferences.

Aigner's 15-point performance moved him into 18th place on the CNU all-time scoring list. He has now scored 1,273 points in 104 career games, and is three points shy of Carl Haynes for the 17th spot on the list. The Captains knocked down ten three-pointers on Wednesday, with Aigner hitting three times from beyond the arc. He has now connected for 315 career triples, most in school history.

The Hampton Inn & Suites/Captains Shootout continues on Thursday as Shenandoah takes on Southern Virginia University. Tip off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at the Freeman Center. The Captains return to action on Friday, hosting Southern Virginia in a 2:00 p.m. start to conclude the tournament and the calendar year for CNU.