Captains surge in second half, earn the right to play at home

After gaining revenge against Tigers, CNU set to host sectional

With a special season on the line against a team that beat them in December, Christopher Newport’s Captains responded with a dominant second half to defeat Hampden-Sydney 72-59 Saturday night in a men’s NCAA Division III second-round game before 839 fans at the Tigers’ packed Kirby Field House.

CNU (26-3), ranked second by d3hoops.com, earned its 11th consecutive victory and was named as a host for a four-team sectional, which includes games in the round of 16 and quarterfinals.

CNU’s third-round opponent at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Freeman Center will be Mary Hardin-Baylor, which beat in-state foe East Texas Baptist 72-70. The first matchup, at 4:30 Friday, will pit Saint Joseph, a Connecticut squad that spent much of the year at No. 1 in the nation, and Wheaton of Illinois.

Entering the tournament, d3hoops.com ranked Saint Joseph fourth, Wheaton ninth and Mary Hardin-Baylor 17th.

Rodney Graves came off the bench to lead the Captains with 19 points. He sank 4 of 8 3-point tries and grabbed seven rebounds.

Trey Barber had 15 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks, while Jahn Hines had 18 points and six rebounds. Matthew Brodie added 12 points.

“Our guys were just awesome tonight,” CNU coach John Krikorian said in a postgame radio interview. “Our guys trusted the game plan, they trusted each other, they looked for each other, and on the defensive end, I thought they really kept the crowd at bay . ... We had a great crowd from CNU, and we’re really grateful.”

Davidson Hubbard paced No. 20 Hampden-Sydney (22-7) with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while DJ Wright had 13 points and Adam Brazil added 11. But the Captains held the Tigers to 31.1% field-goal shooting (23 of 74), including 5 of 25 from 3-point range, and H-SC couldn’t repeat the 85-70 it posted Dec. 13 in Newport News.

Down by as many as six, CNU went ahead 20-18 on a Collin Hines 3-pointer with 5:18 left in the first half and never relinquished the lead.

CNU began the second half with a 9-0 surge for a 37-24 lead. Ahead 46-36, the Captains all but put the game away with another 9-0 binge for a 55-36 margin.

“The first half was a rock fight,” Krikorian said. “I thought both teams were really defending and competing . ... In the second half, we settled in ... and went on a spurt that really put the game out of reach.”