UNION, N.J. - Christopher Newport University opened a 17-point halftime lead Tuesday night, and then held off the comeback bid of the Cougars of Kean University in the second half. CNU improved to 9-3 with a 67-55 victory at Harwood Arena on the Kean campus.

The Hines and Henderson brothers enjoyed big games for the Captains, led by sophomore Collin Hines' 16 points and nine rebounds. Senior Jahn Hines tallied a double double with 12 points and ten rebounds as the Captains won their final game prior to an eight-day Christmas break. Junior Ty Henderson came off the bench to score nine points on three long-range jumpers and also dished out four assists, while freshman Tyson Henderson drilled two three-pointers for six points. 

The Captains never trailed in the first meeting ever of the schools. Christopher Newport used an 11-0 run in the first half to open an 18-5 advantage, and cruised to a 39-22 lead at the intermission, which proved to be the biggest lead of the night. The Cougars, now 6-6, battled from behind in the second half, shrinking the lead to five at three different points. Each time, the Captains answered with a big bucket, including two three-pointers from freshman Toa Hollenbeck, who recorded all eight of his points in the second half.

"Our defensive effort in the first half was tremendous, and then we made some big shots in the second half to hold off their rallies," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "I think we learned a lot today about ourselves, and this was an important road win."

Christopher Newport made nine of 20 shots from beyond the arc (45 percent) and out-rebounded the Cougars, 48-33. CNU's superlative first half defensive effort held Kean to just seven of 29 shooting (32 percent). The Cougars were led by 16 points from junior D.J. Alicea, 12 from junior Brandon Upshaw, and fifth-year senior DJ Daniels also reached double figures with ten points. Kean out-scored the Captains in the second stanza, 33-28, to account for the 12-point final verdict.

Christopher Newport will now enjoy an eight-day break for the holiday. The Captains will resume play on Thursday, December 28th, when they host the Captains Shootout at the Freeman Center. CNU will play Old Westbury in the opening round at 5:00 p.m. after NJ City and Stevenson open the Shootout in a 3:00 p.m. first game