FREDERICKSBURG, VA-- Senior Tyler Kessinger led UC Santa Cruz in scoring, but the Banana Slugs couldn't get their offense going in a 58-44 loss to Christopher Newport in the Coast-To-Coast (C2C) tournament semifinals.

The game was a rematch from a month ago where UC Santa Cruz won 79-62, and never trailed in the second half. This time, however, it was the Captains who had the big run late to earn the victory.

The 25th-ranked Captains (20-6) advance to Saturday's C2C final, while the Banana Slugs see their season end at 11-15. The 11 wins tie the program record for most wins in a year against Division III opponents.

The Banana Slugs took a quick 3-0 lead on Zino Okah's three-pointer two minutes in, but the Captains soon took the lead after that and stretched it to 32-19 at the half.

The Banana Slugs roared back in the second half, with Treyson Keating's hook shot and Kessinger's acrobatic "and-1" cutting the deficit to 32-24 with 18:17 left. The Captains pushed the lead back to 14 again, but a pair of Kessinger baskets brought it back to a nine-point game at 51-42 with 4:12 left. However, the Captains tightened their defense to hold off the comeback attempt.

Overall, the Banana Slugs were 16-53 on field goals (30.2%) but held Christopher Newport to 33% (16-48). The difference was at the free throw line, where the Captains were 21-33 while the Banana Slugs were 8-14.

Kessinger finished with 12 points in his final game in a UC Santa Cruz uniform, along with three steals. Fellow senior Keating had a team-high ten rebounds, putting him fifth on the school's all-time chart with 557.