Top-Ranked Captains Fall to Hampden-Sydney, 85-70, to Snap Nine-Game Winning Streak
Christopher Newport University's nine-game winning streak to open the season came to a close on Tuesday, as the top-ranked Captains lost at home to Hampden-Sydney College, 85-70. The defeat at the Freeman Center also snapped a 22-game home winning streak for CNU.
The teams staged a back-and-forth opening half that featured 11 lead changes, and was tied five times. The Captains jumped in front on a last-second layup from sophomore Ty Henderson to end the half with CNU on top, 38-37. The second half saw the Tigers take over, eventually building a 16-point lead with 2:11 to play. H-SC shot 55 percent from the field for the night (34 of 62), and the Tigers made 17 of 30 shots after the intermission (57 percent), including seven three-pointers in the second half.
"Hampden-Sydney played a terrific game," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "They out-shot us, out-rebounded us, and out-worked us. All the credit to them, now we've got to get to work to get better."
Henderson led the Captains in the scoring column with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Senior Rodney Graves (12), fifth-year senior Matthew Brodie (11), and junior Jamaal Madison (10) also reached double figures. The Tigers, now 7-3, were led by junior Davidson Hubbard's 26 points, with 15 coming in the second half. Senior Ryan Clements added 15 and juniors Adam Brazil and Josiah Hardy scored ten each. The victory was the Tigers' fifth straight.
The Tigers held a 40-32 edge on the boards for the night, with Hubbard pulling down nine rebounds and Hardy contributing eight. The Captains were led in rebounding by junior Jahn Hines with seven.
The Captains shot just 43 percent from the floor (26 of 61) and made 8-of-26 (31 percent) from long range. CNU made just 2-of-11 from distance in the second stanza.
Christopher Newport has been ranked as the top team in the country for the last three weeks by D3hoops.com, with the most-recent ranking coming out Monday night. It's the first time in the 55-year history of the program the Captains have been at the top of a poll.
The 9-0 start by the Captains was the best since the 2000-2001 season, when Christopher Newport won its first 11 games en route to a 25-4 final record. The defeat was the first home loss for the Captains since February 27, 2020, when CNU lost to York College (Pa.), 79-77, in the Championship Game of the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament. The Captains were 17-0 on their home floor last season.
CNU now leads the all-time series with Hampden-Sydney, 8-6, and the loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Captains in the series.
Christopher Newport, now 9-1, doesn't have much time to reflect on its first loss of the season, as the Captains travel to Virginia Beach on Thursday to take on Virginia Wesleyan. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Batten Center. The game will end a stretch of three games in five days for CNU.
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