NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University is heading to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight season and 25th time in program history, as the Captains defeated Mary Washington Saturday night for the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference title. The 80-69 victory at the Freeman Center was the 21st straight for John Krikorian's squad, and the fourth-ranked Captains are now 24-2 for the season.

Sophomore Jahn Hines led the way by scoring 22 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. Senior Matt Brodie came off the bench to match Hines with 22 points and Senior Darian Peterson recorded his sixth double-double in the last seven games with ten points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore Trey Barber tallied 14 points, nine rebounds, and eight blocked shots. 

"Obviously I couldn't be happier for these guys," Krikorian said following the inaugural C2C tournament. "This is an amazing group to coach, and they work so hard on and off the court. Tonight we battled and finally opened things up a bit in the second half. Mary Washington has given us three great tests, and they're a really talented team with a lot of seniors. So this is a quality win and now we're looking forward to the NCAA's."

Saturday's title game featured ten lead changes and was tied nine times, including at the half, 34-34. The Captains trailed 41-39 with 15:09 remaining when they embarked on a 23-6 run to open their biggest lead of the game, 62-45, and the Eagles never got closer than nine the rest of the way.

Hines, the Player of the Year in the C2C, scored nine points in the opening half and 13 more after intermission. Brodie scorched the nets in the second stanza, with 15 of his 22 coming after the break. Christopher Newport dominated the boards, out-rebounding the Eagles, 48-32, and blocked ten total shots by UMW, including eight by Barber, the Defensive Player of the Year this year in the C2C.

Mary Washington was led by senior Anias Saunders, who scored 17 in the opening half and finished with 23. Senior Da'Shawn Cook (17) and senior Riley Welch (12) also reached double digits. The Eagles finished the season with a record of 16-9.

A crowd of 1,128 watched the Captains up their record to 15-0 at home this season, and Christopher Newport has won 46 of its last 48 games at the Freeman Center. The victory for CNU was the third this season over Mary Washington, and the sixth in a row. The Captains now lead the all-time series, 34-7, and have won 15 of the last 16 dating back to January of 2015.

Christopher Newport will be making its 25th appearance in the NCAA men's basketball tournament in 54 seasons of action. This will mark the eighth time in 11 seasons under John Krikorian the Captains have advanced. The NCAA men's basketball bracket show will take place on Monday afternoon, and the Captains will begin play in the tournament next Friday, March 4th. Details will be posted on CNUsports.com on Monday following the release of the bracket.