Box Score Box Score

AMHERST, Mass. – A strong second-half surge by the home team helped the UMass Minutemen erase a four-point halftime deficit and defeat the visiting Elon Phoenix, 85-67, in the 2011-12 men’s basketball season opener for both teams inside historic Curry Hicks Cage on Friday night.

Massachusetts (1-0) outscored the Phoenix (0-1) 46-24 in the final period to earn the victory in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

Elon got 51 of its 67 points from freshmen or sophomores. Sophomore forward Lucas Troutman led the team with 15 points in 21 minutes of action. Senior Drew Spradlin added 14 points and five rebounds while rookie Austin Hamilton netted 12 points, 10 of which came in the first half. Sophomore Ryley Beaumont grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

Four Minutemen scored in double figures with Chaz Williams’ 18 points leading the way. Williams also racked up eight assists and grabbed three steals.

UMass pressure created problems for the Phoenix, especially in the second half. UMass was credited with 14 steals on Elon’s 25 turnovers.

It was a high-paced outing from the opening tip in front of a rowdy crowd of 3,093 in the just the second game in the Cage in 18 years. After trailing by as many as eight, 21-13, midway through the first half, Elon outscored UMass 11-2 over the next three minutes. Freshman Kevin Blake came off the bench, and with his first touch, drained a three-pointer to give Elon its first lead of the game, 24-23, at the 8:32 mark.

With UMass clinging to a 33-31 lead with 4:49 to go before the break, sophomore Sebastian Koch nailed a triple to regain the lead for the Phoenix. Elon wouldn’t relinquish the advantage for the remainder of the half and another bomb from downtown, this one from the hands of Beaumont, sent UMass to the locker room trailing 43-39.

The second half was a different story. The Phoenix scored the first bucket of the half but would only manage three more field goals over the next 13 minutes. UMass thrived off Elon turnovers and used a 19-2 run that spanned five minutes to flip the score in its favor, 58-47. Elon would never get closer than nine for the remainder of the contest.

The Minutemen scored 32 points off turnovers and made much of their living in the paint. UMass netted 36 points in the paint and knocked down 25-of-36 free throw attempts.

After shooting 42.9 percent in the first half, Elon managed only 9-of-33 (27.3) from the field in the final 20 minutes. The Phoenix got to the line 17 times in the first half but made only four trips to the stripe in the second period.

Elon will entertain its home crowd on Tuesday night when South Carolina visits Alumni Gym for a 7 p.m. tip. The game can be seen on SportSouth.