DANVILLE, VA – CNU’s men’s basketball team ended its two-game road trip with a 95-80 victory over Averett University Sunday afternoon.
The Captains trailed at halftime 43-41. Both teams shot extremely well from the floor. CNU finished the half 16-of-30 (53%) from the field, 3-of-9 (33%) on three-pointers and 6-of-9 (67%) from the free throw line. The Cougars shot a similar percentage, 17-of-33 (52%) from the floor, 4-of-7 (57%) from outside the arch and 5-of-6 (83%) from the charity stripe. CNU scored 25 points in the first eight minutes of the game to lead 25-12 but struggled from to put any points on the board in the final 12 minutes of the first half, scoring just 16 points compared to Averett’s 31 points.
The Captains started the second half on a 15-6 run with seven points coming from Jordan Short on three consecutive possessions to lead 56-49 with 15:18 left in the game. CNU continued to extend its lead when the Cougars called a timeout midway through the second half as the Captains led 66-55 with 10:09 left in the game. Averett made a move late in the second half as they cut the lead to 71-65 before Jeremy Romeo came down the floor to end slide with a three-pointer with 7:35 left in the game to extend the lead back to 12, 77-65 with 6:45 remaining in the game. CNU’s biggest lead was the winning margins, 95-80.
The Captains continued their hot shooting in the second half as they went 19-of-32 (59%) from the field, 4-of-7 (57%) on three’s and 12-of-14 (86%) from the free throw line. Averett cooled off in the second half finishing 11-of-28 (39%) from the floor, 2-of-8 (25%) on three’s and a perfect 13-of-13 from the charity stripe.
For the game, CNU finished 35-of-62 (57%) from the floor, 7-of-16 (44%) on three’s and 18-of-23 (78%) from the charity stripe. The Cougars finished the game 28-of-61 (46%) from the field, 6-of-15 (40%) on three’s and 18-of-18 (95%) from the free throw line.
Jerrod Harris led Averett with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Sterling Williams added 17 points, Andrew Boor finished with 14, Matthew Jordan added 11 and Joey Barksdale contributed 10 points.
Jeremy Romeo completed the road trip with another 20-point performance as he finished Sunday’s contest with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting including 3-of-5 on three-point attempts. Jordan Short and Otho Hampton finished with 17 points each and Blake Brookman added 11 points and 10 assists.
Averett falls to 0-14 overall and 0-5 in the USA South. The Captains improve to 10-6 overall and 4-1 in the USA South.
CNU returns to action next Saturday as they host Methodist with tip-off set for 4 pm.
Newspaper Box Score Christopher Newport vs Averett 1-25-04 12:00 Noon at Danville, VA (Grant Center) At Danville, VA (Grant Center) CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT 95, AVERETT 80 CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT (10-6, 4-1) ROMEO, Jeremy 8-13 5-5 24; HAMPTON, Otho 7-11 3-5 17; SHORT, Jordan 7-13 0-0 17; BROOKMAN, Blake 5-6 0-0 11; SELDON, Dont'a 3-4 0-0 6; HEPNER, Mark 1-2 2-3 4; COLLINS, Tim 0-2 4-4 4; LEWIS, Korey 1-3 1-2 3; TURNER, David 1-1 1-2 3; MURRER, Steven 1-4 0-0 2; BROOKS, Brandon 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 35-62 18-23 95. AVERETT (0-14, 0-5) HARRIS, Jerrod 7-12 4-4 18; WILLIAMS, Sterling 5-10 4-5 17; BOOR, Andrew 7-8 0-0 14; JORDAN, Matthew 1-7 8-8 11; BARKSDALE, Joey 4-9 0-0 10; GARDNER, Billy 3-12 2-2 8; JOHNSON, Kashif 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 28-61 18-19 80. Christopher Newport........... 41 54 - 95 Averett....................... 43 37 - 80 3-point goals-Christopher Newport 7-16 (ROMEO, Jeremy 3-5; SHORT, Jordan 3-8; BROOKMAN, Blake 1-1; COLLINS, Tim 0-1; MURRER, Steven 0-1), Averett 6-15 (WILLIAMS, Sterling 3-5; BARKSDALE, Joey 2-5; JORDAN, Matthew 1-5). Fouled out--Christopher Newport-None, Averett-None. Rebounds-Christopher Newport 35 (HEPNER, Mark 9), Averett 30 (HARRIS, Jerrod 8). Assists-Christopher Newport 19 (BROOKMAN, Blake 10), Averett 16 (JORDAN, Matthew 4). Total fouls-Christopher Newport 18, Averett 19. A-135