SALISBURY, Md. — Christopher Newport University extended its winning streak to four straight games Wednesday night, defeating Salisbury University, 81-69, at the Maggs Center on the Salisbury campus. The victory improved the Captains to 18-4 on the year, while the Sea Gulls fell to 15-6, and had a four-game winning streak snapped.
The Hines brothers, Jahn and Collin, combined for 42 of the Captains’ 81 points to lead the way. Jahn Hines, a fifth-year senior All-American, led all scorers with 23 points, and junior Collin Hines posted 19 points, with each contributing five rebounds. Sophomore Jason Ofcarcik, who started in place of flu-ridden sophomore Toa Hollenbeck, recorded a near double scoring 12 points and pulling down nine boards.
“We really stepped up tonight and did a great job offensively and defensively,” head coach John Krikorian said following the game. “I was really happy with our rebounding, especially in the first half, and I noticed that Salisbury did not have an offensive rebound in the entire first half. That was the kind of effort we knew we needed coming in, and a whole lot of guys contributed to this victory.”
CNU held a 43-28 advantage on the boards for the night, including an 11-7 edge on the offensive glass. Sophomore Ethan Ward led the Captains in the rebounding column with ten, his third double-digit rebounding effort in the last four games.
Sophomore Tyson Henderson dished out a career-high 12 of CNU’s 17 total assists, marking back-to-back games with ten or more dimes.
The Captains and the Sea Gulls exchanged the lead ten times in the early-going, but Salisbury’s last lead in the game would prove to be 14-13 with 14:23 to play in the first half. CNU went on to open a 47-41 lead after a high-scoring first 20 minutes. Christopher Newport used an 8-0 run after the intermission to extend its lead to 14, and the Gulls could get no closer than ten points the rest of the way. CNU pushed the lead to as many as 17 in the second stanza, dampening the spirits of the 400 fans in attendance.
Christopher Newport connected on 52 percent of its field goals (32 of 62), including a 60 percent performance in the first half (21 of 35). The Captains were also efficient from the charity stripe, shooting 87.5 percent (14 of 16) at the foul line. CNU’s defense held Salisbury to 42 percent from the field (27 of 65).
Jahn Hines, who made 8 of 15 shots, went over 1,900 career points on his second basket of the night. Hines has now scored 1,918 points, and sits just 59 points behind Steve Artis for second place on the school’s all-time scoring list.
Salisbury was led by graduate student Brendan Davis, who scored a career-high 21 points, 17 of which came in the first half. Fellow graduate student Jordan Oates registered his 16th double-double of the season, tacking on 19 points and ten rebounds, but the 53 percent shooter was held by CNU to just 7 of 21 shooting from the field.
The game was the 54th all-time in the series, and the Captains now hold 38-16 advantage, winning 15 of the last 16 matchups. The teams will meet again when Salisbury travels to the Freeman Center next Wednesday, February 12. Tip-off time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
“You never know how these games will go in a rivalry like this,” Krikorian continued. “Sometimes you expect the games to be high-scoring and it’s the exact opposite. I’m sure next week will be a tough challenge, and I’m glad we have a week to prepare and get ready for it.”
