FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - Christopher Newport University battled from behind most of the night Saturday before the eighth-ranked Captains dropped an 88-77 decision at 11th-ranked Mary Washington. The road loss snapped an 11-game CNU winning streak, as John Krikorian's squad fell to 19-4 on the season.

Mary Washington, now 19-3, used a 22-8 run in the opening half to open a 13-point lead at halftime, 40-27. Christopher Newport cut the lead as close as eight in the second half, but could get no closer. The Captains out-scored the Eagles in the second stanza, 50-48, and freshman Cam Quarles scored 12 of his career-high 15 points after halftime to lead the comeback effort.

Five other Captains finished in double figures in the scoring column as juniors Toa Hollenbeck, Tyson Henderson, Isaiah Dozier, and Zyir Baskerville all posted 12 points and junior Ethan Ward added ten. Junior Collin Hines led the Captains on the boards with eight rebounds as CNU held a 42-39 edge for the game. The Captains struggled in the shooting column, making just 22 of 65 shots (34 percent) for the night. Mary Washington maintained its lead by making 31 of 62 shots (50 percent).

"That's college basketball for you," Krikorian said following the loss. "Mary Washington is a really good team that had just lost two games in a row, and they really came out to play tonight. I take the blame, I don't think we came out ready in the first half, and got punched in the face a little bit. I was really proud of our guys in the second half, I think they really put up a fight, and at least gave ourselves a chance to get back into the game. But you've got to give Mary Washington a lot of credit, they brought their A game tonight."

UMW was led by a 25-point performance from sophomore Kye Robinson, and junior Jay Randall recorded 21 points.Mary Washington improved to 12-0 at home this season with the win. The squads met just ten days ago at the Freeman Center on the CNU campus, and the Captains came away with an 86-77 victory in the first encounter to snap a nine-game Eagles winning streak.

CNU's last loss had come on December 19th to Emory University in the Jay Bilas Classic in Charlotte, N.C. Christopher Newport will now have a week to prepare for the regular season finale next Saturday at home vs. Salisbury University. Tip off time is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Freeman Center, and Senior Night ceremonies will take place prior to the start of the game.