NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – After trailing for the entire first half, Christopher Newport rallied past the Frostburg State University men’s basketball team for a 71-68 win on the first day of the Holiday Inn Captains Shootout, Wednesday night.

Box Score

CNU (6-4) evened the season series with Frostburg, avenging a 95-91 loss back on Dec. 19. The defeat drops the Bobcats to 6-6 and they will face Bridgewater State in the tournament consolation game tomorrow afternoon at 5:30 pm.

The Bobcats led right from the opening tip and jumped out to an 8-4 lead just five minutes into the opening half. FSU doubled up Christopher Newport five minutes later with an 18-9 edge. CNU cut the deficit to five points, 20-15, with 6:48 to play, but FSU used an 8-0 run for a 28-15 lead, its largest of the first half.

The Captains closed out the first half with a 7-0 spurt and Frostburg led by six, 30-24, at the break. The Bobcat defense limited the hosts to just six baskets (6-of-28) and 21.4 percent shooting in the opening half and forced 11 turnovers.

However, the second half was a different story as Christopher Newport used a 7-0 run inside the opening five minutes to tie the game at 35-35. The Captains hit a jumper at 15:30 for a 37-36 edge, a lead they would never relinquish.

CNU slowly extended its lead and grabbed a 10-point cushion, 53-43, at 8:46. The Captains led by 13 points, 57-44, with 7:31 to play in the second.

Christopher Newport later led by 13, 66-53, with 2:18 to play but the Bobcats closed out the contest with a 15-5 run. With two seconds to play, senior guard Brian Anderson (Perry Hall, Md./Eastern Tech) was fouled while shooting a three-pointer. He made the first free throw to cut the deficit to 71-68. He then missed the second and a lane violation was called on the third attempt and FSU failed to get off another shot attempt before the final buzzer.

Anderson led the Bobcats with 14 points behind 8-of-10 free throws. Junior Maurice Williams (Columbus, Ohio/Pickerington Central) finished with 11 points while classmate Troy Dockett (South Riding, Va./Freedom) added 10.

The Captains rebounded from a poor shooting first half with a stellar second stanza. CNU shot 57.1 percent from the floor (16-of-28) in the second and limited FSU to just nine baskets in each half and a 31.0 shooting percentage (18-of-58).

Conley Taylor led all players with 22 points behind 13-of-18 free throws. He also tied for the team lead with nine boards. Mike Green made a game-high six baskets and finished with 15 points while Paul Meredith rounded out the CNU players in double figures with 11 points.