FORT WAYNE, IN. - For the fourth time in the history of Christopher Newport University men's basketball, the Captains have advanced to the National Semifinals. Thursday afternoon at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, CNU held off third-ranked St. Thomas (Texas), 63-59, and will play Saturday for the right to advance to the National Championship game in Indianapolis on April 5th.

The Captains will play Emory University in one of two semifinal games, and will tip off at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Emory also won in exciting fashion Thursday, ousting Illinois Wesleyan, 83-78, to advance.

John Krikorian's squad improved to 25-5 as junior Toa Hollenbeck led the way with 25 points, and junior Ethan Ward scored all ten of his points in the second half as the Captains survived a frantic comeback bid by the Celts. St. Thomas finished the season 29-2, and had a 26-game winning streak snapped by the Captains.

"If you like hard-nosed, tough, grind-it-out basketball, then you probably enjoyed that game," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "We prepared the best we could this week to go against their defense, but to see it in person was much different. I think we did a good job in the second half taking advantage of the few opportunities we had, and we made some stops at key times that kept us in there until the end. We've had so many of these close games this year, these guys feel very confident in those spots, and I'm really proud of the way we pulled it out."  

Click HERE for the complete CNU post-game press conference.

Christopher Newport jumped to a seven-point lead in the opening half, 12-5, before the Celts bounced back to briefly take the lead before the intermission. The teams went to the locker rooms tied at halftime, 22-22.

The Captains re-gained momentum in the second stanza, surging to an advantage of as many as 12, 50-38, before the Celts again battled from behind. UST used a 21-10 run to cut the lead as close as one at three different junctures in the final two minutes.

CNU never relinquished the lead, though, as Ward sank two free throws with 1:14 remaining to push the lead to three. Junior Jason Ofcarcik's lay-in with 49 seconds on the clock again put the advantage back to three. From there, it was all about free throw shooting as Hollenbeck knocked down two with 24 seconds left, and junior Zyir Baskerville added another with four seconds left to put the finishing touches on the hard-fought victory. CNU made 16 of 21 free throws attempts for the day.

Christopher Newport dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Celts, 46-34, with senior Collin Hines leading the way with 12 boards, and Ofcarcik just behind him with nine. Baskerville added seven rebounds to go with seven points.

In the NCAA Tournament, Christopher Newport has taken down fourth-ranked Randolph-Macon last Friday in the Sweet 16 and third-ranked St. Thomas in the Elite Eight. Now they will begin preparing to play the second-ranked team in the country in Emory, and a team they met earlier this season in the Jay Bilas Classic in Charlotte, N.C. Emory defeated the Captains, 98-65, on December 19th. 

The Captains made their first trip to the Final Four in Salem, Va., in 2016, falling in the semifinal to St. Thomas of Minnesota. CNU returned to the National Semifinals in 2019, again falling in the semifinal, this time to Swarthmore in Fort Wayne. Christopher Newport captured the National Championship in 2023 in Fort Wayne, defeating Swarthmore in the semifinals and Mount Union in the title game. 


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