SANTA CRUZ, Ca. - Christopher Newport University scored the final five points of regulation Friday night to force overtime, and then held off UC Santa Cruz at West Field House, 77-74, in the semifinals of the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. The Captains, ranked tenth in the nation, improved to 21-4 and will play the University of Mary Washington Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. at KP Arena for the title. Mary Washington, ranked seventh in the country, ousted Salisbury in the first semifinal on Friday, 55-46, to improve to 23-3 on the season.

Christopher Newport trailed for most of the game Friday, and was looking at a five-point deficit, 64-59, with just 1:23 remaining in the second half. The Captains rallied as junior Toa Hollenbeck scored the final seven CNU points of regulation to pull the Captains into a 66-66 tie after 40 minutes. Hollenbeck evened the game on a driving layup while drawing a foul with 11 seconds remaining, and his free throw to complete the three-point play forced extra time. Hollenbeck and junior Zyir Baskerville then each added five more points in the OT as the Captains out-scored the Slugs, 11-8, in the extra period to advance to the title game.

"I couldn't be more proud to be coaching this team," Krikorian said following the remarkable victory. "That was just an unbelievable effort, across the board, they showed an incredible will to win this game. UC Santa Cruz made some big plays, but somehow we found a way."

Hollenbeck led the way for CNU, scoring 36 points, with 27 coming after halftime. He knocked down 11-of-21 shots from the field, including four-of-six from long range, and made all ten of his foul shots.  Baskerville came off the bench to score 12 points and pull down nine rebounds, and senior Collin Hines also registered nine rebounds as the Captains ended the Banana Slugs season with a 14-11 record.

"Every time we needed a bucket tonight, Toa found a way to get one," Krikorian continued. "We had some foul trouble tonight, but our guys ratcheted up the defense, made some steals, and gave ourselves a chance." 

The Captains used a 15-3 run over a four minute span of action from the 1:23 mark of the second half to the 2:18 mark of the overtime period to turn the game around. The Slugs, who were led by senior Joseph Espy's 20 points and 13 rebounds, led for almost 32 minutes of the game while the Captains held the advantage for just eight minutes in all. CNU held a 45-53 edge on the boards for the night, topped by Hines and Baskerville's nine-rebound efforts. The Captains defense also held the Slugs to just 38 percent shooting in the game (22 of 58).

Christopher Newport will be playing Mary Washington in the title game of the C2C Tournament for the fifth straight season since the creation of the conference, and the Captains are 3-1 in C2C title games vs. the Eagles. Last year in Salisbury, Md., UMW downed CNU by a 71-66 score. During the regular season this year, the Captains and Eagles split a pair of meetings, with each team winning on its home court.

"We obviously don't have much time to enjoy this win, but I'm looking forward to the Championship game and coaching this team again," Krikorian said. "The will they showed tonight was truly remarkable, and I can't say enough about the work they did tonight."