CHESTER, Pa. (WTKR) — It may have come in dramatic fashion, but the Christopher Newport national championship defense will last one more game.
After giving up a 12-point lead, the Captains stormed back in the final five minutes to defeat Widener 70-65 in the second round of the NCAA Dlll Tournament.
Going ahead 43-31 to begin the second half, CNU's advantage was eliminated in just 10 minutes as the Pride rallied to tie things up at 49-49 with 10:04 left in the game.
A 10-4 run gave Widener a 59-53 lead with just 5:30 left to go but that's when the Captains found their rhythm.
Grassfield product Toa Hollenbeck would score seven points over the games final four minutes, including a three to tie things up at 61, then scoring an old fashioned three-point play to give CNU a 66-63 lead with 1:37 left. They'd never surrender the advantage again. Hollenbeck finished the game with 12 points.
Norview's Jahn Hines led the way with 24 points, going 12-21 from the field, while grabbing six rebounds.
It's CNU's fourth win in a row, improving to 23-6 on the season. The Captains advance to play Williams in the Round of 16 next Friday.
