ASHLAND, Va. -- Adding his name to the history books, Phoenix Hines came through with another record-setting performance on the defensive side of the ball, while the offense was nearly unstoppable as the 11th-ranked Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team cruised past Randolph-Macon, 24-8, during a Wednesday night battle at Day Field.
 
Against the Yellow Jackets, Hines finished with five takeaways, giving him 107 during his All-American career. That total stands as the new program record, beating the former mark of 102 set by Drew Cornell from 2016-19.
 
Stockpiling records during his time as a long-stick specialist, Hines already owns the single-season record with 57 takeaways, which he set during his sophomore campaign. The Ashburn native also boasts two of the top-six single-game efforts in school history.
 
While Hines was adding his name to the top of the charts, Max Wayne also collected three takeaways on Wednesday. That performance pushed his career total to 102, equaling the previous program record. Incredibly, the senior also added his first career goal on Wednesday with a 55-yard missile late in the second quarter.
 
Along with the defensive standouts, Dylan Rice led the attack with seven points, including five goals. Meanwhile, Alex Brendes came through with four strikes, and Brady Altobello handed out four assists.
 
Overall, 18 Captains registered at least one point during the game, while 15 found the back of the net. The squad's 24 goals equaled the third-highest total in program history and the most since a 29-goal explosion against Southern Virginia on April 4, 2015.
 
With the win, Christopher Newport improves to 5-0 on the season. The setback drops Randolph-Macon to 2-2.
 
In the opening quarter, the two teams were evenly matched while trading early runs. The hosts burst out to a 2-0 lead before the Captains retaliated. In just three minutes of action, Christopher Newport fired four goals on the board, including an impressive play by Campbell Pozin that saw him unleash a gorgeous spin move while catching a feed from Rice and shaking a defender on the way to a long-range rocket.
 
Although Randolph-Macon eventually pulled even again early in the second stanza, the Captains never let the Yellow Jackets retake the lead. First, the squad broke the deadlock as Drew Miller showed incredible patience behind the crease before slipping a feed to Brendes, who deposited on the doorstep.
 
Moments later, after Randolph-Macon attempted to respond, Hines came through with his historic takeaway. After snaring a feed on the right side, a Yellow Jacket found himself matched up one-on-one with the senior star. Attempting to push inside, the attacker ran square into a wall. Hines stood up his counterpart and quickly stripped possession on the way to his 103rd career caused turnover.
 
Following the defensive highlight, Christopher Newport erupted on the other side of the field. Aidan Wheeler sniped on the run for his first goal before Coby Auslander spun a screamer from the right side.
 
Trailing 7-4, Randolph-Macon called for a timeout, but the stoppage did nothing to slow down Christopher Newport's assault. Miller landed a man-up dagger and assisted on a fantastic goal by Brendes, which saw him break out a behind-the-back shot. Meanwhile, Cole Evans also won a faceoff cleanly and took care of the rest by himself with his first career goal midway through the second quarter.
 
Still surging, Auslander shrugged off a blow by the RMC goalie before landing a dart on the interior, while Easton Lanclos weaved through heavy traffic and spun past a pair of defenders on the way to his second goal of the year. Moments later, after Zack Sands won the ensuing faceoff, he found Rice for another bullet, which pushed the lead to 13-6.
 
Marching towards halftime, Christopher Newport had enough time left to add a pair of highlight-reel goals to the ledger. With 50 seconds remaining, Wayne beat a 10-man ride with his 55-yard blast. Later, Rice made his case as one of the university's top long jumpers as he elevated on the left side of the crease, fired his third goal in midair, and landed on the right side just before the horn sounded.
 
Overall, the Captains tossed 11 goals on the board in the second quarter while flipping a modest 4-3 edge into a lopsided 15-7 lead.
 
After halftime, Christopher Newport put the game away. Sands won the opening faceoff and raced up the field before driving home his first goal. Later, Brendes pounced on a loose ball near the right post before depositing it over the head of the RMC keeper. Shortly thereafter, Rice kicked off an epic run to close out the third quarter as the senior assisted on a goal by Auslander before adding two strikes of his own, including a man-up dart in the final seconds, which locked up a 20-8 lead.
 
With the game out-of-reach, the Captains polished off the contest with a pristine fourth quarter. While the defense blanketed the Yellow Jackets over the final 15 minutes, Griffin Hanes, Miles Collins, Jordan Lee, and Matt Rice added the final four nails on the offensive side to close out the 24-8 triumph.
 
Overall, Christopher Newport held a 53-31 advantage in shots and a 47-35 lead in ground balls. The Captains also won 21 of the 36 faceoffs, including nine by Sands. Meanwhile, Ryan Young joined Hines and Wayne as the leading disrupters on the defensive end as the sophomore forced three turnovers and grabbed six ground balls.
 
The Captains will return to action on Saturday when the squad hosts No. 2 Lynchburg in a nationally-ranked showdown at 1 p.m.
 
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