No. 18 Men's Basketball Drops Season Opener To York (NY), 98-92

NEWPORT NEWS, VA - Christopher Newport's men's basketball team dropped its first season opener in 10 seasons Friday when York (NY) came from behind to defeat the Captains, 98-92.

CNU's last season-opening loss was in the 1997-98 season when they lost at Virginia Wesleyan, 75-74.

The Captains raced out to a quick 10-point lead on Davon Barton's three-pointer to put CNU ahead, 30-20. The Cardinals would then go on a 19-7 run over the next seven minutes to take a 39-37 lead with 2:25 remaining in the opening half.

York would lead by as many as seven points in the final two minutes, taking a 46-39 lead with 29 seconds to go on Aaron Wilson's lay-up. Donta Selden trimmed the lead to four with a three-pointer right before the end of the half.

Both teams shot exceptionally well in the first half. York was 17-of-35 (49%) from the field and 12-of-14 (86%) from the free throw line. The Captains finished the first half 14-of-32 (44%) from the floor, 7-of-12 (58%) from behind the arc and 7-of-9 (78%) from the charity stripe.

In the second half, CNU would tie the score at 59-59 with 12:27 remaining in the game on two free throws by Selden. The Cardinals would respond by quickly taking advantage of the Captains cold shooting and take its biggest lead of the game, 12, 87-75 with 1:31 left in the game.

The Captains would fight back and trim the lead to as little as five twice, the final time coming with 25 seconds left on two free throws by Barton that cut the York lead to 95-90.

The Cardinals finished the second half 18-of-31 (58%) from the field and 16-of-27 (59%) from the free throw line. CNU was 15-of-38 (39%) from the floor, just 4-of-13 (31%) from beyond the arc and 16-of-20 (80%) from the line.

For the game, York was 35-of-66 (53%) from the floor and 28-of-41 (68%) from the charity stripe. The Captains finished 29-of-70 (41%) from the field, 11-of-25 (44%) on three-point attempts and 23-of-29 (79%) from the line.

The Cardinals were led by Dennis Echols 36 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field and 14-of-20 from the free throw line. He also finished with 12 rebounds. He was one of five York players in double figures. Aaron Wilson added 19 points, Jeffrey Boone contributed 13 points and 12 rebounds and Andre Vincent and Jonathon Christian each finished with 10 points.

Barton paced the Captains with 25 points and seven assists. Selden added 22 points, five boards and five assists while Korey Lewis finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Theo Baker contributed 15 points off the bench and Mark Blasingame had eight points, seven rebounds and six blocks.

York improves to 1-0 while the Captains are now 0-1. CNU returns to action Tuesday as they travel to cross-water rival and defending national champion, VA Wesleyan, with tip set for 7 pm.

Box Score