NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- In the home opener of the 2022-23 campaign, the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport men's basketball team looked right at home against the University of Lynchburg (0-2), racing out to a huge lead and blowing by the Hornets, 96-64. Five Captains finished in double figures including a career-high 17 points from Jamaal Madison as CNU improved to 2-0 on the year with the win. 

CNU scored 61 first-half points while shooting a torrid 65.7 percent from the field in the opening half to build a 28-point lead at the break, 61-33. The Captains opened the game on a 16-2 run and took a 27-8 advantage through the first nine and a half minutes of play. 

Newcomer Rodney Graves nailed back-to-back triples after Trey Barber and Matt Brodie opened the scoring with layups. His second three-pointer gave CNU a 10-0 lead less than three minutes in before the first wave of substitutions came into the game. From there, rookie Collin Hines took over for a stretch, sinking a pair of shots, setting up Graves with an assist, and adding three rebounds in his first action in front of the home crowd. 

A little over halfway through the opening stanza, Jamaal Madison hit the first of his five three-pointers and the Captains followed that splash with a dunk -- an alley-oop thrown down by Jake Latta off a perfect feed from Jahn Hines. The thunderous slam made it 36-14 with just over six minutes remaining. 

By halftime, the Captains already had three players in double figures with 61 points on the board. Ty Henderson was 4-for-7 with a pair of three-pointers and 12 points; Graves was 3-for-3 with two triples and 10 points; and Madison had drained three long balls and was 4-for-4 from the field with 11 points. Not far behind, leading scorer Jahn Hines had nine points at the break. 

Less than four minutes into the second half, Christopher Newport built a game-high 31 point lead on a free-throw by Trey Barber to make it 70-39. The lead would flutter between 25 and 31 for the remainder as Lynchburg would get no closer than 73-48 the rest of the way. Madison sank back-to-back three-pointers with 12 minutes remaining to rebuild the lead the first time and Caleb Furr finished an easy lay-up after a nice find by Brandon Edmond the next. 

For the game, Madison led all CNU scorers with 17 points while Graves added 14, Henderson had 12, while brothers Jahn Hines and Collin Hines each poured in 11 points. Collin fell just one rebound shy of his first career double-double with nine boards and the rookie added two assists and one steal. 

Christopher Newport shot 56.7 percent (38-67) from the field in the game and outrebounded Lynchburg by a final count of 51-28. 

The Captains will return to action at the Susquehanna Tip-Off Tournament in Selinsgrove, Pa. next weekend. CNU is scheduled to face Washington and Lee on Friday, November 18 at 6:00 p.m. before facing either the host River Hawks or Lebanon Valley College in Saturday's championship/consolation games.