Junior guard Taylor Johnson scored 19 points and senior Dylan Farinet overcame early foul trouble to add 18 as the 20th ranked University of Mary Washington men's basketball team defeated Christopher Newport University, 76-65, on Wednesday night in Capital Athletic Conference action from the Anderson Center. The eagles improve to 12-2 overall, and 6-1 in CAC play, while the Captains fall to 10-4 and 3-3.

Farinet was forced to the bench just 1:20 into the game with his second foul, and played less than two minutes the rest of the half, scoring four first half points. The first half remained tight throughout, with two lead changes but seven ties, as CNU shot a blistering 7-14 from three-point range in the opening stanza.

The Captains led by as many as five at 18-13 with 10:22 on the clock, but free throws from freshman Tyler Snow and senior Dom Morra cut the deficit back to one with 9:06 remaining. A ppair of Morra free throws and a three-pointer from senior Marcellus Holley gave the Eagles their largest lead of the half at 36-30 with 2:33 left,and the Eagles led by three, 38-35, at intermission.

CNU quickly regained the lead to start the second, and the game remained a one-possession contest for the next five minutes, until UMW used a 9-1 run over 3:23 to gain a 59-50 lead with 8:51 remaining.Johnson hit a three pointer to start the run, then added a pair of free throws. Farinet followed with a three pointer followed by a layup.

Senior Bradley Riester upped the lead to 62-52 with a three pointer, and Farinet hit a jumper to give UMW a 12-point cushion with 5:00 remaining. CNU would cut the deficit to nine with three free throws with 2:54 left, but UMW regained control with five free throws to open up a 15-point lead with 45 seconds left at 74-59. The Eagles held on for the 11-point win, their third in the last four meetings between the schools after CNU had won 17 of the first 19 meetings between the schools dating back to the 1980s.

Johnson shot 4-9 from the field with two three pointers and went 9-10 from the free throw line, and added five rebounds. Farinet was 6-11 with a pair of treys in 20 minutes of action. Morra added seven points, eight rebounds, and four steals, and Riester scored 10. CNU was led by Tra Benefield's 20 points.

UMW shot 39.6% from the floor, including 7-19 three pointers, while CNU cooled after shooting 54.2% in the first half, going 10-31 from the field in the second to end at 41.8% from the field. UMW made 31-42 free throws (73.8%).

The Eagles will return to action on Saturday when they host Penn State Harrisburg at 3:00 p.m. in another CAC contest.