AMHERST, Mass. – Massachusetts guard Zach Lewis registered a career-high 37 points to lead the Minutemen to an 84-71 win over the La Salle University men's basketball team on Sunday afternoon in Atlantic 10 play.
 
Sophomore Pookie Powell scored 17 of his team-high 24 points in the opening half for the Explorers, who fall to 14-13 overall and 8-8 in league play with two games remaining in the regular season.
 
Three-pointers were prevalent in the first half, as the two teams combined to connect on 15 and shoot 48.3 percent from deep.
 
For the Explorers, Powell was the leader of the pack, hitting five of his six attempts from three-point range while junior B.J. Johnson connected on two of his three tries.
 
La Salle held a 35-28 lead following a trifecta from freshman Saul Phiri, but the Minutemen went on a 12-0 run to close the half and take a 40-35 lead heading into intermission.
 
The big run to close the period built momentum for UMass, who built an eight-point lead following a layup from Malik Hines with 17:18 left in the second stanza.
 
A driving hoop from junior Amar Stukes and a three-pointer from Johnson trimmed the margin to 46-43 and the lead remained three following a three-point play from Stukes at the 11:52 mark.
 
But a 13-4 run that included 11 points from Lewis grew the margin to 60-49 with 7:31 remaining. The advantage for the Minutemen remained at a comfortable margin the rest of the way as they improved to 14-15 and 4-12 in league action.
 
La Salle remains on the road for its next contest on Wednesday, March 1, as it travels to Saint Louis. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m.