Massachusetts 71, Boston College 62: Maxie Esho put up 23 points and nine rebounds and the Minutemen won a game of contrasting halves in the Coaches vs. Cancer Tripleheader at TD Garden in Boston.

Esho hit 8-of-13 from the field and 7-of-9 from the foul line for UMass (2-0), which caught fire and shot 62.5 percent in the second half after going 26.7 percent in the opening 20 minutes. Derrick Gordon had 15 points and three steals while Cady Lalanne contributed 11 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks for the Minutemen, who host Manhattan Tuesday.

Olivier Hanlan scored 18 points, but just three after halftime as Gordon put the clamps on him, and Aaron Brown had 12 for the Eagles (1-1), who started the second half 1-of-13 from the field. Dimitri Batten had eight points while Dennis Clifford provided six points and seven rebounds for BC, which next plays New Mexico Thursday in Puerto Rico.

UMass was able to go up 48-40 by increasing its defensive pressure and scoring 24 points over the opening seven minutes of the first half – matching its first-half point total. Just as UMass did in the first half, the Eagles kept it close by hitting free throws but six straight points by the Minuteman gave them their largest lead at 12 points with just over five minutes remaining

The Eagles probably should have enjoyed an even larger advantage in the first half as the Minutemen went nearly 12 minutes without a field goal, but only faced a 32-24 halftime deficit. The Eagles trailed 8-7 early on when Hanlan scored seven points and Patrick Heckmann added five to key a 14-0 run that made it a 21-8 game with just under 11 minutes left in the opening stanza.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Minutemen, who made just 4-of-14 field goals in the first half, stayed in it by making 16-of-26 from the foul line. ... The Eagles, who shot poorly in an opening win against New Hampshire, started hot by going 7-of-13 before finishing 13-of-31 in the first half. ... Lalanne has 11 blocks on the season for UMass, which forced BC in 12 turnovers in the second half.