Men's Basketball Holds Off Oswego St., 87-85

NEWPORT NEWS, VA - Christopher Newport's men's basketball team took on a very talented Oswego St. squad on day two of the Captains Shootout Saturday evening and dodged a last second attempt by the Lakers to tie the game and held on for an 87-85 win.

The Captains led by five with 2:40 to go in the game when the Lakers Kyle Reuter hit a long three-pointer with 2:24 left to cut the CNU lead to two, 81-79. On the very next possession, Davon Barton nailed a jumper in the paint to put the Captains back ahead by four, 83-79, with 2:04 to play.

Reuter again would get free coming off a screen and peeled around behind the arc and nailed another long three-pointer with 1:49 to go to cut the lead to one. After a CNU turnover, Oswego's Erik Roberson missed a chance to give the Lakers the lead when he missed a three-point attempt with 1:12 to play. Thirty-two seconds later, Ed Riley knocked in a shot from about 14 feet off the glass to give the Captains a three-point lead with 40 seconds to go.

Roberson redeemed himself as he nailed a three-pointer with 18 second to play to tie the score at 85-all. After the bucket, Barton went coast-to-coast and drove in the lane hitting a hanging jump shot with 13 seconds to go to put CNU up by two. After a time out, the Lakers broke the Captains press and Todd Franze's shot in the lane was off but the Lakers had several hands on the ball but Selden came away with the rebound securing the win.

Riley was one of the main reasons the Captains were able to keep the score close in the first half as he accounted for 13 of the first 20 CNU points. He would finish the half with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including making his first six shots. The Lakers held the lead for the first 12 minutes of the game until Korey Lewis' bucket and ensuing free throw that completed a three-point play to put the Captains ahead 27-26 with eight minutes to go.

CNU led by as many as three several times, with the last time coming with 6:07 left as they led 31-28. Oswego went on an 11-3 run capped by Franze's three-pointer with 1:23 to go in the first half. CNU finished the half on a mini run of three straight points. Mark Blasingame was fouled with under 10 seconds to play and missed the front end of a 1-and-1, missing an opportunity to cut the lead to one or tie the game at the break. The Lakers led 39-37 at halftime.

In the second half, Oswego scored eight of the first 10 points to increase its lead to eight, 47-39, with 18:00 to play. The Captains went on a 25-9 run to lead 64-56 with 11:05 remaining on Blasingame's bucket in the paint. The Lakers however countered with a 16-6 run over the next four-plus minutes to regain the lead 72-70 in Reuter's first three-pointer of the night.

The Lakers would remain within striking distance setting up the final three minutes of the game.

For the contest, Oswego was 30-of-62 (48%) from the field, 9-of-20 (45%) from long range and 16-of-21 (76%) from the charity stripe. Christopher Newport finished 35-of-65 (54%) from the floor, including shooting 19-of-31 (61%) from the field in the second half. CNU was also 6-of-13 (46%) from downtown and 11-of-14 (79%) from the line.

Franze led the Lakers with 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting. He also had five assists. Roberson contributed 21 points on 7-of-16 from the field, including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Mahamoud Jabbi finished with 11 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Mat Burridge added 16 points and 11 boards.

Selden finished with a season-high 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting. Riley tied his career-high with 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting. He also had 22 against Castleton St. back on Dec. 2. Barton scored 15 of his 16 points in the second half and also dished out nine assists.

Oswego St. falls to 5-3 on the year while the Captains improve to 7-4. In the day's first contest, Greensboro held on to defeat Fisk, 83-75.

The Captains return to action January 6 when they host Wesley (DE) with tip-off at 6 pm.

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