NEWPORT NEWS — Christopher Newport University improved to 5-1 Saturday afternoon with a 77-63 home victory over Kean University (N.J.) at the Freeman Center. Fifth-year senior All-American Jahn Hines and his brother, junior Collin Hines, both recorded double-doubles as the Captains led from start to finish to send Kean to a 1-4 record.
Jahn Hines led the way with 25 points and ten rebounds while Collin Hines registered 12 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore Ethan Ward came up just shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
“We had some really good individual efforts, and we needed them all to win this game,” Head Coach John Krikorian said. “Credit to Kean, they made us work hard for this and never let down. We just talked in the locker room about putting teams away, and what we need to do to make that happen. We made some mistakes today at key times, but to our credit we still found a way to maintain the lead and hold them off.”
The battle in front of 457 fans marked the 100th career game for Jahn Hines, who moved into ninth place on the CNU all-time scoring list during his 25-point effort. He made 11 of 18 shots, and now has scored 1620 career points, 57 behind Buck Moore for eighth on the all-time list.
Ethan Ward filled the stat sheet for the Captains. In addition to his 11 points and nine rebounds, he also contributed three assists and three blocked shots. Seven of his nine rebounds were offensive rebounds, and for the day, the Captains out-rebounded the Cougars, 52-29. CNU held a 16-8 edge on the offensive glass.
The Captains jumped to an early 6-0 lead to start the game and went up by as many as 16 in the opening half, 31-15. The Cougars cut the lead to eight at the intermission, 40-32. following a 17-9 run in the final minutes before the break. After the Captains pushed the advantage to 14 early in the second half, Kean hung around the rest of the way, but could get no closer than nine, 53-44.
Christopher Newport shot 46 percent for the game (30 of 65) and the Captains drained eight of 24 from long range (33 percent). Kean shot just 35 percent for the day, 23 of 65, and the Cougars also made eight triples on 22 attempts (36 percent).
Justin Morton came off the bench to lead Kean with 19 points. Phil Brown, Jr. (11) and Andrew Turco (10) also reached double figures in scoring for the Cougars. Trey Harts topped the squad in rebounds with six off the bench.
The game was the second meeting of the teams in as many years, and last year in New Jersey the Captains recorded a 67-55 triumph. The Hines brothers were also instrumental in that game, with Jahn scoring 12 points and pulling down ten rebounds and Collin posting 16 points and nine boards.
Christopher Newport heads on the road Monday to take on Averett University. The battle at the Grant Center in Danville, Va., is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.
