NEWPORT NEWS, VA (WTKR)- Christopher Newport basketball fans are going to have a busy Saturday night with both the Captain men's and women's teams still going in the NCAA Tournament.
The CNU men topped Mary Hardin-Baylor at the Freeman Center on Friday, 72-60, while the Captain women took down Wartburg, 60-51, in Medford, Massachusetts, winning their respective Sweet 16 showdowns. Both squads advance to the regional finals with tickets to the NCAA Division III Final Four at stake.
The Christopher Newport men would take their first lead of the game on Jahn Hines's three-pointer a little more than three minutes into the game and never look back. CNU led by as many as 12 points in the opening frame and went into the locker room up 36-25.
UMHB made a run in the second half, closing the Captain advantage to four with 13:14 to play on a Ty Prince triple, but CNU would swell the lead back to 13 points and go on for the double digit victory. The win improves its record to 27-3 and marks the squad's 13th consecutive victory.
John Krikorian saw his team dominate the glass, outrebounding the Crusaders, 48-35.
The Norview product Hines lead the Captains with 17 points and added eight rebounds. Ty Henderson added 15 points, while Matt Brodie scored 13 points and Trey Barber chipped in 12 points. Prince led all scorers with 33 points in the losing effort for UMHB.
Christopher Newport will host Wheaton College Saturday at 7:30 PM with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
Meanwhile, the Captain women took control from the get-go. CNU led 21-9 after the opening frame and held a 36-22 advantage at the half. Wartburg would trim the lead to single digits on a couple of occasions, but never was able to really challenge Christopher Newport.
Bill Broderick's group improved to 29-0 and has now won 72 of its last 73 games. The Captains exorcised some of last year's demons, grabbing a win in the round where they were eliminated in 2022.
Sondra Fan paced Christopher Newport with 16 points with Camille Malagar scoring a career-best 12 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Hannah Orfloff pulled down 12 rebounds.
The Captains advance to take on the host Tufts on Saturday night at 7:00 PM, with the winner advancing to the women's Final Four.
