Much had changed in four years, yet Brian Weiser found himself in a very similar situation during a recent men’s college basketball game.
The former Washington-Liberty Generals high-school standout is now a 6-foot-3 backup junior guard/forward and defensive specialist for the Division III Christopher Newport University Captains.
When the Captains were playing state-rival Randolph-Macon College in an NCAA playoff game, Weiser was inserted into the contest and played 25 minutes to guard the Yellow Jackets’ Amr Areikat.
Weiser regularly guarded the high-scoring Areikat — with both players now in different uniforms and jersey numbers, and with facial hair, compared to those earlier prep outings when both were all-district and all-region high-school players.
The two previously played against each other during high-school contests when Washington-Liberty met with its Liberty District rival, the Langley Saxons. Weiser’s play helped the Generals win a district-tournament championship, take second in the region tourney and earn a state-tournament berth his junior season.
As a senior, Weiser and W-L finished second in the district tournament.
“I remembered and knew how to guard Amr again because when we met so many times in high school,” Weiser told ARLnow. “It felt the same and was fun again. Amr is good at catching the ball and shooting. So I knew how to position myself against him, guard him straight up to contest.”
After the game, Weiser said the two said hello and reminisced a bit about the familiar matchup.
In that college playoff matchup, Areikat led Randolph-Macon in scoring with 15 points. However, he did not score when guarded by Weiser, as CNU held on to win, 59-57.
During Weiser’s single-game, season-high 25 minutes of action, he enjoyed one of his most productive games of the campaign. He scored six points on three of three shooting, including a fastbreak two-handed dunk; he grabbed six rebounds; and had two assists, one block and one steal. His biggest contribution was holding Areikat scoreless.
The economics major said the college meeting between the two was their first since high school.
In his three years playing for the Captains, Weiser has continued as a backup. He played little as a freshman and sophomore. After overcoming an ankle injury in January of this season, Weiser began earning more playing time, especially during the playoffs, because of his shutdown defensive abilities.
Although not a starter, Weiser has paid his dues for three seasons by continuing to practice hard and demonstrate his defensive abilities and importance.
“I’ve always prided myself on defense and getting my hands on the ball,” Weiser said. “I like that role a lot. I show up every day and go hard in practice and try to make the other players on the team better.”
After the victory over Randolph-Macon, Christopher Newport also won its next playoff game to continue its strong run in the competition, before suffering a season-ending loss to Emory University in the NCAA semifinals.
Weiser played 16 minutes off the bench against Emory, grabbing a single-game season high seven rebounds with one block, steal and assist each.
For the 2025-26 season, Weiser played in 23 games. He grabbed 51 rebounds and had 22 assists, 10 steals and six blocked shots.
Weiser plans to return for his fourth year with the Captains next season, when he would like to earn more playing time in his valued role as a defensive shutdown specialist.
