BOSTON - Boston College scored the first eight points of the game and never looked back, taking a 35-24 lead over UMass into the break in the marquee game of the Boston Tip-Off Classic at TD Garden.
Joe Trapani led all scorers at halftime with 10 points for Boston College. Biko Paris scored six points and both John Cahill and Dallas Elmore scored five points for the Eagles.
Freddie Riley had a team-high five points for Massachusetts. Sampson Carter scored four points and six other players scored two points for the Minutemen.
The Eagles opened the game on a 14-6 and held a 20-10 advantage with 9:33 remaining in the first half. UMass responded with a 9-0 run of its own, trimming the Eagles' lead to one, 20-19, with 7:40 left.
Clearly unaffected by the UMass run, the Eagles regained their composure and scored the next eight points to rebuild their lead to 28-19 with 5:13 to play before halftime.
Boston College made 9-of-22 shots and 4-of-9 threes while Massachusetts hit 9-of-28 shots and just 2-of-10 shots from beyond the arc in the first half.