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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The quest for a third straight Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference title begins on Friday for the Captains of Christopher Newport University. The top-seeded Captains, 19-6 in the regular season, will open post-season action in the semifinals of the C2C Tournament at the University of Mary Washington. CNU will play Friday at 5:00 p.m., against the fourth-seeded Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz.at Ron Rosner Arena in Fredericksburg, Va.

Christopher Newport concluded the regular season last Saturday with a 71-55 loss at Salisbury University. The Banana Slugs are currently 11-14,  and advanced to the semifinals with a quarterfinal victory Thursday in Fredericksburg over Pratt Institute, 67-58.

CNU and UC Santa Cruz will be meeting for the seventh time, and the Captains hold a 5-1 lead in the all-time series. The squads met on January 25th, and the Banana Slugs recorded a 79-62 victory over the Captains. Junior Zino Okah led the way with 26 points and ten rebounds for the Slugs, and the Captains were victimized by 30 percent shooting from the field in the first meeting.

John Krikorian's squad has won the C2C Championship in each of the last two seasons since the inception of the conference. CNU has defeated Mary Washington in both previous title games, winning at the Freeman Center in 2022, 80-69, and in Santa Cruz, Ca., last year, 65-52.

Captains men's basketball is broadcast live on the Christopher Newport/Pepsi Radio Network (Xtra 99.1 FM) with the pre-game show beginning at 4:40 p.m. Friday from Ron Rosner Arena in Fredericksburg. Video of all the action will be streamed live by Mary Washington and can be seen by clicking the link at the top of this story. You can also follow the live stats and access the complete CNU game notes and tournament central website with the links provided above. 

Friday's winners will advance to the C2C Championship game, which will be played Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. in Fredericksburg. The victor will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. Christopher Newport, National Champions for the first time in program history last season, has advanced to the last seven NCAA Tournaments and 26 in the 56-year history of the program.