Men's Basketball Falls At NC Wesleyan, 102-96

ROCKY MOUNT, NC - Christopher Newport's men's basketball team let a 10-point second half lead slip away as NC Wesleyan came from behind to defeat the Captains 102-96 in a USA South contest Tuesday night.

The Captains led by 10 (59-49) with 19:18 to go on Davon Barton's jumper. The Bishops countered with a 13-0 run to take the lead 62-59 with 15:56 remaining in the game on two free throws by Trey Drake.

CNU then scored six unanswered to see-saw back in front by three on Donta Selden's three-pointer with just under 14 minutes to go. With 7:25 left, the Captains jumped ahead by nine, 83-74, on another Barton bucket. The Bishops hung around and trimmed the lead down to two, 90-88 with 2:42 left in the game on Drake's driving lay-up. Just 30 seconds later, after a missed CNU shot, Sharard Carmichael's lay-up knotted the game at 90-90.

After a CNU turnover and a NC Wesleyan foul, Theo Baker went to the line and made only one of two to put the Captains ahead by one with 1:27 left. The Bishops countered with a Lenny Hall three-ball with just over a minute to play to go ahead for good.

NC Wesleyan hit 9-of-10 free throws in the final minute to seal the win.

Christopher Newport was on fire from the field in the first half, shooting 22-of-33 (67%) from the floor, 5-of-9 (56%) from behind the arc and 8-of-9 (89%) from the line. The Captains led at the break, 57-49. The Bishops shot 19-of-41 (46%) from the field in the opening stanza, 6-of-13 (46%) from downtown and 5-of-6 (83%) from the line.

The difference in the second half was the Bishops free throw shooting. NC Wesleyan went to the line 23 times, making 18, compared to CNU's eight attempts (four made).

For the game, the Captains were 37-of-69 (54%) from the field, 10-of-23 (44%) from behind the arc and 12-of-17 (71%) from the charity stripe. NC Wesleyan finished 34-of-79 (43%) from the floor, 11-of-32 (34%) on three-point attempts and 23-of-29 (79%) from the foul line.

Hall finished with 30 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field, including 4-of-8 from behind the arc and 12-of-13 from the free throw line. Drake finished with 26 points on 10-of-23 shooting. Carmichael added 19 points and Adam Coleman finished with 11 points and a game-high 20 rebounds.

Barton paced Christopher Newport with 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting, including 3-of-6 from behind the arc. He also dished out seven assists. Ed Riley had 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting, Donta Selden added 17 points, Theo Baker had 17 off the bench and Mark Blasingame finished with six points and 14 rebounds.

NC Wesleyan improves to 10-10 overall and 5-3 in conference action. Christopher Newport falls to 13-8 overall and 5-3 in the USA South.

CNU returns to action Saturday as they head for Danville, VA to take on the Cougars of Averett at 4 pm.

Box Score