Men's Basketball Captures 9th Annual Captains Shootout By Defeating Eastern Connecticut St. 62-57

NEWPORT NEWS, VA - Christopher Newport's men's basketball team captured the 9th annual Point Plaza Suites/Captains Shootout Wednesday evening by defeating Eastern Connecticut St. 62-57.

This was the seventh time the Captains have won the post-New Years tournament.

The game was a battle from start to finish as the game featured nine ties and four lead changes.

The score was tied at the half, 28-28. The Warriors finished the half just 9-of-32 (28%) from the field and 2-of-12 (17%) from the behind the arc but were 8-of-11 (73%) from the charity stripe. The Captains finished the half 12-of-28 (43%) from the floor, 1-of-6 (17%) on threes and just 3-of-7 (43%) from the charity stripe.

CNU jumped out to an early 8-0 lead and led by as many as nine, 23-14 on a lay-up by Edward Riley with 7:15 left in the opening half. Eastern Connecticut chipped away and outscored the Captains 14-5 over the final seven minutes to tie the score. The Warriors held CNU scoreless for almost four minutes before Mark Blasingame's free throw with 12 seconds left tied the score at 28-all.

The largest margin in the second half was the final score, a five-point lead. The turning point was newcomer Jahmar Claxton's driving lay-up with 3:36 left of a long feed from Dont'a Selden that put the Captains up for good, 52-51. Jeremy Romeo's three-pointer with 1:25 left in the game gave CNU a five-point lead, 57-52. CNU hit five free throws down the stretch to close it out.

In the second half, the Warriors shot 9-of-26 (35%) from the floor, 3-of-11 (27%) on threes and 8-of-12 (67%) from the stripe. CNU finished the half 12-of-24 (50%) from the floor, 1-of-4 from behind the arc and just 9-of-17 (53%) from the foul line.

For the game, Eastern Connecticut shot 18-of-58 (31%) from the field, 5-of-23 (22%) on threes and 16-of-23 (70%) from the charity stripe. Christopher Newport was 24-of-52 (46%) from the floor, 2-of-10 (20%) from behind the arc and just 12-of-24 (50%) from the free throw line.

Jonathon Simmons paces Eastern Connecticut with 14 points. Leon Martin added six points and nine rebounds while Kevin Zalucki added seven points and six boards.

The Captains were led by Korey Lewis' 16 points and seven rebounds. Romeo finished with 11 points and Edward Riley added 10 points off the bench. Blasingame finished with six points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.

Matt Badjo of Westfield St., Brett Miles of Maine-Presque Isle, Zalucki, Simmons and Lewis were all named to the All-Tournament Team. Donta Selden, who had eight points, five rebounds and six assists to go along with four steals (he also had 20 points against Maine-Presque Isle), was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Eastern Connecticut falls to 4-6 on the year while CNU improves to 8-3. The Captains return to action this Saturday as they take on Fisher (MA) College at 8 pm.

Box Score