The UMass Minutemen lead the Providence Friars 41-35 at halftime of Thursday's game, led by Chaz Williams and Jesse Morgan.

Williams has scored 11 points and Morgan has 10. Terrell Vinson and Cady Lalanne have six points each. The Minutemen are shooting 59 percent for the half, although the team has made just 63 percent of its free throws.

Providence got off to a slow start shooting the ball, but finished the half at 42 percent. Kadeem Batts has 14 points, Bryce Cotton has scored eight, Josh Fortune has seven and LaDontae Henton has six. No other Providence player has scored.

A three by Fortune and jumpers by Henton and Batts in the final 1:35 of the half helped Providence cut a double-digit deficit down to six.

Both teams come into the game unbeaten, Providence at 2-0 and UMass at 1-0. The Friars came away with a surprisingly close 1-point win over New Jersey Institute of Technology and defeated Bryant by 22 points. UMass beat Harvard by three in its opener.