NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The
Jarren Dyson era opened with a win Saturday night at the Freeman Center, as Christopher Newport University defeated Penn State Altoona, 97-59, to open the 2026-2027 men's basketball season. Dyson opened his head coaching career, and was able to play all 21 players available, with 19 getting into the scoring column.
"We were a little nervous I thought in the first half, a little jittery to start the game," Dyson said following his first game on the CNU sideline. "The second half was the team that I've been seeing in practice the last few weeks. We really shared the ball, and that's what I wanted everyone to see, just how unselfish we are. Defensively, I think we did a good job being aggressive and speeding up our opponent."
Senior
Toa Hollenbeck led the way with 16 points, and fellow seniors
Isaiah Dozier and
Zyir Baskerville also reached double digits with ten points each. Christopher Newport never trailed in the game, and broke the game open early after a 6-6 start. The Captains tallied the next 12 points to take an 18-6 lead, led by a 46-30 margin at halftime, and stretched the advantage to as many as 39 in the second stanza on the way to the 38-point final decision.Â
"I think one of our big strengths is our numbers," Dyson continued. "We can wear people down, and pressure our opponents. It's competitive in practice for us because we have so many talented players, and our fans got to see that as we were able to get them all in tonight "
The Captains shot the ball well, knocking down 37 of 69 attempts (54 percent), and also made 12 of 27 three-point shots (44 percent). Christopher Newport held Penn State Altoona to just 30 percent shooting for the night (21 of 70), and the Lions converted just seven of 23 long-range attempts (also 30 percent).
CNU out-rebounded the Lions, 51-37, with junior
Luka Matic leading on the glass with eight boards in ten minutes of playing time. The Captains also rejected 12 Lions shots, with senior
Ethan Ward recording three blocks to go with eight points and six rebounds in 14 minutes of action.
The Captains, ranked second in the nation in the pre-season poll from D3hoops.com, advanced to the National Semifinals last season for the fourth time in program history. Saturday night's season opener got the 59th season of CNU men's basketball underway.
Christopher Newport plays at seventh-ranked Randolph-Macon College on Wednesday night in Ashland, Va., with tip off time set for 7:00 p.m.
"It will be a big test for us for sure on Wednesday," Dyson concluded. "It will be their first game of the season and I'm sure they'll be fired up for it. I'm looking forward to the challenge."
