SANTA CRUZ, Ca. - Christopher Newport University captured its second straight Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Tournament Championship on Saturday, defeating the University of Mary Washington, 65-52, at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Junior big man Trey Barber (6'8''-F) dominated the game for the top-seeded Captains, recording a career-high 29 points, as CNU won the conference title and automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.

Barber, who made 13-of-16 shots for the day, was named the MVP of the tournament. He also pulled down eight rebounds and posted two steals. Junior All-American Jahn Hines (6'4''-G), who scored 31 points in Friday's semifinal win over UC Santa Cruz but was hampered by foul trouble on Saturday, and sophomore Ty Henderson (5'9''-PG) were also selected to the All-Tournament team.

"Trey was just phenomenal today, and once he got it going we did a really good job of getting him the ball, and he obviously did a terrific job," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "We had to work through some foul trouble and our depth was another key in this game. We went to a lot of guys on our bench, and they came through when we really needed a lift."

CNU trailed for most of the first half, before rallying and claiming the lead at halftime, 26-23, on a last-second three-pointer from Henderson. The Captains made just nine-of-24 shots (38 percent) in the opening half. The second half would prove to be a much different story, as Christopher Newport knocked down 15-of-27 attempts (56 percent), with Barber draining eight-of-nine in the second stanza. The game featured 11 lead changes, and the Captains pulled ahead, 35-34, on a Jahn Hines layup with 15:45 to play, and never trailed again. CNU would push the advantage to as many as 17 in the final minute on the way to the 13-point triumph.

Barber was the only CNU player to reach double figures in scoring, and the Captains were led in the rebounding department by Henderson, who pulled down nine boards. CNU out-rebounded UMW for the day, 42-31.

Christopher Newport, ranked third in the country, is now 24-3 and the Captains will carry a nine-game winning streak into NCAA play. Krikorian's squad opened the season with a nine-game winning streak. Mary Washington was led by 18 points from senior Greg Rowson (6'6''-F), and the Eagles are now 19-8, and hoping for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

"Nick Thomas (6'1''-G) came in and hit a big shot, Rodney Graves (6'5''-G) had some big moments, and Ian Anderson returning was big as well," Krikorian continued. "We went deeper on the bench today and those guys all came through for us. We're going to celebrate this victory, it was hard-fought and we definitely earned it."

The victory was the third this season for the Captains over the Eagles, and CNU has now won nine straight games in the series as well as 18 of the last 19. Christopher Newport also defeated Mary Washington in the C2C title game last year, 80-69, in a game played at the Freeman Center.

Rowson and Cameron McCravy of Mary Washington, Greg Bloodsworth (5'9''-PG) of Salisbury, and Avri Finch of UC Santa Cruz joined Barber, Jahn Hines, and Henderson on the All-Tournament squad.

The NCAA's 64-team field will be unveiled during a selection show online on Monday at 1:00 p.m. on NCAA.com. The Captains will be playing in their seventh straight tournament, and will be appearing in the NCAA's for the 26th time in the 55-year history of the program.

Courtesy of cnusports.com

All-Tournament MVP: Trey Barber (6'8''-F) of CNU
Player of the Year: Greg Rowson (6'6''-F) of UMW
Defensive Player of the Year: Zack Blue (6'1''-G) of UMW
Rookie of the Year: Dorian Davis (6'2''-G) of UMW
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Jordan Oates (6'5''-F) of Salisbury
Coach of the Year: Marcus Kahn of UMW

All-C-2-C First Team 2023

Barber

Bloodsworth

Cook

Finch

Hines

Rowson

First Team
Trey Barber (6'8''-F) of CNU
Greg Bloodsworth (5'9''-PG) of Salisbury
Da'Shawn Cook (5'10''-PG) of UMW
Avri Finch (6'6''-F/C) of UC Santa Cruz
Jahn Hines (6'4''-G) of CNU
Greg Rowson (6'6''-F) of UMW

All-C-2-C Second Team 2023

Cade

Hatcher

Kessinger

O'Gorman

Second Team
Matt Brodie (6'5''-G) of CNU
O'Darius Cade (5'7''-PG) of Warren Wilson
Brandon Craig (6'4''-G) of Salisbury
Cameron Hatcher (6'6''-G) of Pratt
Tyler Kessinger (6'3''-G) of UC Santa Cruz
Patrick O'Gorman (5'11''-PG) of Pratt

All-Tournament Team
Trey Barber (6'8''-F) of CNU
Jahn Hines (6'4''-G) of CNU
Ty Henderson (5'9''-PG) of CNU
Greg Rowson (6'6''-F) of UMW
Cameron McCravy (5'10''-PG) of UMW
Greg Bloodsworth (5'9''-PG) of Salisbury
Avri Finch (6'6''-F/C) of UC Santa Cruz