AMHERST, Mass. (AP) Donte Clark had 12 points, Luwane Pipkins added nine points and three steals and Massachusetts beat Pacific 72-48 in the Gotham Classic opener on Thursday night.

It was the first meeting between UMass and Pacific. The teams will each face Kennesaw State, North Carolina A&T and Rider in the round-robin tournament over the next two weeks.

The Minutemen (6-2) took the lead for good in the early part of a 23-2 run that spanned both halves. It ended with Seth Berger hitting a pair of free throws to make it 45-29 with 15:27 left.

The Tigers (3-5) had the lead for over ten minutes in the first half but never recovered in the second half after the UMass run. The Minutemen's largest lead was 26.

Ray Bowles and Jack Williams led Pacific with 11 points each. The Tigers had 19 turnovers which UMass converted into 23 points.

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