PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle Explorers held a 45-44 lead early in the second half, but two keys runs down the stretch by Massachusetts gave the visiting Minutemen an 85-66 win in the Atlantic 10 opener from Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday. Senior David Beatty led the Explorers with a season-high 17 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Minutemen held a slim lead early on before a dunk from redshirt junior Clifton Moore and a fastbreak layup from freshman Anwar Gill made it just a two-point deficit for the Explorers, 15-13.
• A three-pointer by Carl Pierre later extended the UMass lead to six midway through the first half, but La Salle answered back with a three from freshman Jhamir Brickus and a layup by sophomore Christian Ray.
• Brickus then made a mid-range jumper to put the Explorers in front, and sophomore Sherif Kenney hit from beyond the arc a minute later to give La Salle a 27-25 advantage.
• A Kenney free throw and a trifecta from senior Scott Spencer gave the Explorers their largest lead of the game (6) with 4:06 remaining until halftime, 31-25.
• UMass would pull even moments later until redshirt sophomore Jack Clark slammed home a dunk to put La Salle ahead by a deuce, however a three-pointer by Noah Fernandes handed the Minutemen a 36-35 lead at the break.
• The two teams went back-and-forth to start the second half and then Beatty converted an and-one layup to give the Explorers a 45-44 lead with 16:33 on the clock.
• That's when things turned in Massachusetts' favor. A jumper by Tre Mitchell started a 20-5 UMass run that suddenly catapulted the Minutemen to a 64-50 lead with 11:31 remaining.
• After a Ray three-pointer, UMass went on another tear led by Mitchell, using a 15-5 run to take a 21-point advantage.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Mitchell, the reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, finished with 37 points for the Minutemen. He was the reason behind the second half UMass surge as he scored 25 points on 9-of-10 shooting in the second frame.
• The Minutemen also held a stiff advantage at the foul line, going 16-for-23 compared to the Explorers' 4-for-10 performance.
• Clark and Gill each finished with nine points apiece, while Spencer scored eight points and Ray tallied seven points and eight rebounds.

UP NEXT

• The Explorers will remain at home next as they host Delaware on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. The game will air live on NBC Sports Network.