The Cougars quickly jumped out to a 12-point lead, 18-6 on a three-pointer by Dominique Stevenson with 14:23 left in the opening half. The Captains would cut the lead to one several times, the final time coming on a jumper by Donta Selden with 21 seconds left in the half to cut Averett's lead to 45-44. The Cougars promptly turned the ball over with 12 seconds remaining giving CNU an opportunity to take the lead before the break. However, Davon Barton quickly turned it over with three seconds remaining and Rafael DeLeon's dunk was waved off as it came after the buzzer.
AU finished the half on fire, shooting 19-of-38 (50%) from the field, 6-of-18 (33%) from behind the arc and 1-of-4 from the free throw line. Christopher Newport was just as solid from the floor, shooting 17-of-31 (55%), 4-of-7 (57%) on threes and 6-of-9 from the line.
In the second half, the Captains took their first lead of the game, 58-57 with 12:53 left on Jeremy Romeo's jumper. The two teams battled back and forth in the second half combining for three ties and five lead changes.
CNU took the lead for good with 8:54 left in the game on two free throws by Selden. The 10-point final score margin would prove to be the biggest lead for the Captains, as they hit 7-of-9 free throws to clinch the win.
AU shot 9-of-33 (27%) in the second half and finished 28-of-71 (39%) from the field for the game. From behind the arc, the Cougars were 5-of-18 (28%) in the second half and 11-of-36 (31%) for the game. From the free throw line, AU was 8-of-10 in the second half and 9-of-14 for the game.
The Captains were 14-of-32 (44%) from the floor in the second half and 31-of-63 (49%) for the game. On threes, CNU was 2-of-9 (22%) in the second half and 6-of-16 (38%) for the game. From the foul line, Christopher Newport was 12-of-14 (86%) in the second half and 18-of-23 (79%) for the game.
Averett was paced by Cory McDaniel's 25 points on 8-of-16 shooting including 5-of-11 from behind the arc and 4-of-8 from the line, all off the bench. Stevenson added 11 points and seven assists and DeLeon contributed nine points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
Christopher Newport was led by Davon Barton's 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-3 from behind the arc and 5-of-6 from the line. He also had six assists, five rebounds and four steals. Selden finished with 17 points, Mark Blasingame added 13 points and nine boards and Edward Riley contributed 13 points and seven boards off the bench.
AU is now 16-7 overall and 7-3 in the USA South. Averett heads to Winchester to take on Shenandoah tomorrow at 4 pm. The Captains, winners of seven in a row, are now 17-5 overall and 8-1 in conference play. CNU hosts Ferrum tomorrow in the final regular season home game of 2006.
Averett vs Christopher Newport 02/11/06 4:00 pm at Newport News, VA, Freeman Center At Newport News, VA, Freeman Center CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT 86, AVERETT 76 AVERETT (16-7, 7-3) MCDANIEL, Cory 8-16 4-8 25; STEVENSON, Dominique 4-9 0-0 11; DELEON, Rafael 3-7 3-4 9; BROWN, Cameron 3-8 0-0 8; BROWN, Damien 3-3 2-2 8; BOOR, Drew 3-7 0-0 6; HAGWOOD, Shaun 2-11 0-0 5; WILLIAMS, Sterling 1-5 0-0 2; GARDNER, Billy 1-1 0-0 2; HARDWAY, Chad 0-2 0-0 0; WILKINS, Carlos 0-0 0-0 0; FRAZIER, Ryan 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-71 9-14 76. CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT (17-5, 8-1) BARTON, Davon 7-12 5-6 22; SELDEN, Donta 6-12 4-4 17; BLASINGAME, Mark 4-6 5-6 13; RILEY, Edward 5-7 3-5 13; ROMEO, Jeremy 3-12 0-0 8; LEWIS, Korey 3-7 1-2 7; CLAXTON, Jahmar 3-6 0-0 6; COLEMAN, Matt 0-0 0-0 0; PURDHAM, Adam 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-63 18-23 86. Averett....................... 45 31 - 76 Christopher Newport........... 44 42 - 86 3-point goals-Averett 11-36 (MCDANIEL, Cory 5-11; STEVENSON, Dominique 3-7; BROWN, Cameron 2-7; HAGWOOD, Shaun 1-8; WILLIAMS, Sterling 0-2; FRAZIER, Ryan 0-1), Christopher Newport 6-16 (BARTON, Davon 3-3; ROMEO, Jeremy 2-9; SELDEN, Donta 1-4). Fouled out--Averett-None, Christopher Newport-None. Rebounds-Averett 44 (DELEON, Rafael 15), Christopher Newport 39 (BLASINGAME, Mark 9). Assists-Averett 18 (STEVENSON, Dominique 7), Christopher Newport 14 (BARTON, Davon 6). Total fouls-Averett 20, Christopher Newport 14. A-1703