Newport News, Va. – The St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball team dropped a heartbreaking 57-56 decision to top-seeded and No. 5 Christopher Newport University Thursday night in the semifinals of the 2016 Capital Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship Tournament.

Back-to-back baskets by sophomore captain Delaszo Smith's (Baltimore, Md./Annapolis) in a 10-second span pulled St. Mary's within one with nine seconds on the clock. Smith then fouled out and sent junior guard Rayshard Brown (Norfolk, Va./Portsmouth Christian) to the line with seven seconds left. Brown missed the frontend of a 1-and-1 and first-year forward James Foley (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis Area Christian) grabbed the defensive board.

Senior captain Tanner Brooks (Baltimore, Md./St. Paul's) received the ball in transition with three seconds to go and launched a three-point attempt from just inside midcourt that went off the rim as time expired.

Fourth-seeded St. Mary's has its 2015-16 season come to a close with a 13-14 (8-10 CAC) overall record while Christopher Newport (25-1) now hosts second-seeded Salisbury University on Saturday in the championship game at 2:00 p.m. Salisbury posted an 83-78 win over No. 3 seed University of Mary Washington in tonight's other semifinal matchup.

Smith, who played nearly all 40 minutes of the game, finished the night with a game-best 26 points plus five rebounds, four steals, and two blocks. He shot 10-of-15 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from downtown. Brooks contributed seven points, seven assists, and six rebounds.

CNU only grabbed a 29-27 halftime advantage after Smith knocked down a three-pointer with 27 seconds left in the half. Smith led all players at intermission with 10 points while junior forward Tim Daly (Richmond, Va./James River) paced the Captains with nine.

The Seahawks continued to push in the second half and reclaimed the lead off a Smith triple to open the final 20 minutes. St. Mary's built a six-point lead with 12:01 left in the game as Smith made a pair of free throws. Christopher Newport responded with a 13-5 run to stake a 49-42 advantage at 6:20.

The Captains stretched the distance to an eight-point lead at 3:39 before St. Mary's began to diminish CNU's advantage, closing the gap to one with nine seconds left following an 11-4 run.

St. Mary's shot 49.0-percent for the game, including 41.7-percent from behind the arc, while the Captains were held to 30.8-percent after shooting a dismal 24.1-percent in the second half. However, the Seahawks sent CNU to the line 29 times and the Captains drained 19. Four CNU players scored in double digits while sophomore guard Marcus Carter (Williamsburg, Va./Bruton) notched a double-double with 11 points and 15 boards.

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