NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A pair of late 3-pointers pushed host Christopher Newport University past Shenandoah University 73-71 in the first round of the Crowne Point Plaza Captains Classic Friday night.

Leading 69-67 following a Kwa McDonald 10-foot jumper with 2:14 remaining, Shenandoah (6-4) saw Christopher Newport (8-2) hit 3-pointers on consecutive trips down the floor to turn that two-point deficit into a four-point lead.

McDonald answered the second 3-pointer with layup at the 40-second mark to cut the deficit in half, but SU could not get the tying bucket.

McDonald had chance to tie with five seconds left, missing a runner in the lane, and after CNU made 1-of-2 from the line with three seconds remaining, had one chance at a game-tying 3-pointer.

Senior Aaron Patterson had that attempt, missing a 25-footer just short as time expired.

The Captains comeback completed a game in which the two teams traded the lead four times and were tied on five additional occasions.

After Shenandoah jumped out to an 8-2 lead to start the contest, CNU answered with a 14-2 run that gave the Captains a 16-10 lead by the 10:48 mark.

The hosts' lead eventually reached 14 points by the 3:36 mark of the first and remained in double digits as late as six minutes into the second half.

And then the Hornets answered.

Shenandoah scored 23 of the game's next 33 points in a span of 9:07, tying the contest at 64-64 following a McDonald 3-point play with 4:55 remaining.

From this point on, the two teams were separated by no more than four points the rest of the way.

McDonald led the Hornets with 16 points with Jonah Meredith and Christopher Chaney adding 12 points each.

Derrick Perry had eight rebounds and Meredith seven to help SU to a 41-39 advantage on the glass.

The loss puts Shenandoah into Saturday's 4 p.m. consolation game versus No. 17 New Jersey City. The Gothic Knights lost, 72-56, to Johns Hopkins in Friday's opening game.

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