Men's Basketball Drops 74-72 Decision To Piedmont

NEWPORT NEWS, VA - Christopher Newport's men's basketball team had several chances in the final minute to tie the score and force overtime as they dropped a 74-72 decision to Piedmont Saturday night.

The Captains trailed from tip-off until the 3:55 mark in the second half when Korey Lewis' jumper in the paint put CNU on top 68-67. But the Lions answered on their next possession as Branden Mayweather's only field goal attempt on the night was a three-pointer he nailed from the right wing to put Piedmont back on top, 70-68.

CNU would score the next four points, capped by Davon Barton's two free throws at the 3:04 mark to give the Captains a 72-70 lead. Those would be the final two points CNU would score. The Captains would miss their next five field goal attempts, including Lewis's miss with 1:12 to go. After the Lions missed a three-point attempt, Barton drove the lane and left his eight-foot runner short and on the rebound, Piedmont's Jake Baldwin was fouled with 14 seconds left and he made both free throws for a two-point lead.

On the other end, Barton drove into the lane again and missed another short jumper that was rebounded by Baldwin who fell to the floor and was whistled for traveling. After a timeout by the Captains, Barton's inbounds pass went to Lewis whose fade-away 10-footer missed short.

Both teams seemed like they could not miss in the first half. Piedmont, much like Shenandoah did on Wednesday, scored the first 10 points of the game before Lewis put the Captains on the scoreboard just over two minutes in. The Lions led by as many as seven late in the opening stanza. Trailing 45-38 with 1:29 left, CNU ended the half with four straight points to trail 45-42.

CNU was 19-of-37 (51%) from the floor, just 3-of-12 (25%) from long range and 1-of-1 from the line. Piedmont was just as effective from the field, finishing 17-of-32 (53%), 5-of-15 (33%) from behind the arc and 6-of-10 from the line.

Both teams saw their respective shooting percentages dip in the second half. The Lions finished the game 28-of-62 (45%) from the floor, 8-of-27 (30%) from long range and 10-of-14 (71%) from the charity stripe. Christopher Newport finished 30-of-69 (44%) from the field, 3-of-12 from downtown and 9-of-9 from the line.

Baldwin paced Piedmont with 32 points on 13-of-23 shooting and 13 rebounds. Tyler Whitlock added 19 points.

All five starters finished in double figures led by Lewis' 16 points and seven rebounds. Barton added 15 points and 10 assists and Donta Selden contributed 14 points. Ed Riley had 10 points and Mark Blasingame finished with 10 points and 12 boards.

Piedmont levels its record at 7-7 on the year while the Captains snap a four-game winning streak and fall to 9-5.

The Captains return to action Tuesday as they host NC Wesleyan with tip set for 7:30 pm.

Box Score