Hornets pick up conference win

Daily Staff Report - sports@nvdaily.com

NEWPORT NEWS -- Shenandoah University earned its second regular-season sweep over Christopher Newport in the past three seasons with a 65-62 USA South Conference men's basketball victory on Wednesday.

Shenandoah (8-12, 5-2 USA South) took over sole possession of second place in the USA South with the victory over Christopher Newport (9-9, 4-3).

The Hornets, who had jumped out to a 19-6 lead early in the first half, only to see the Captains take a one-point lead (36-35) at the half when Josh Russell canned a 3-pointer from mid-court at the halftime buzzer, won Wednesday's contest despite taking a season-low 50 shots on the night.

Fortunately for Shenandoah, Brandon Bryan drained his first four shots, all from behind the 3-point arc, and he and his teammates shot 46 percent (23-of-50) for the game.

Defensively, Shenandoah held Christopher Newport to a 27.8 percent (20-of-72) shooting performance and the Captains made just 20 percent of their shots in the final 20 minutes.

With the two teams tied five times and trading the lead six times in the contest, Shenandoah finally took control of the contest with a 7-1 run over a span of 3:35 late in the second.