The fifth-ranked Amherst College men's basketball team cruised to a commanding 104-52 win Friday night over Johnson State College in its 2015-16 season-opener during day one action of the 15th Annual Ken Wright '52 Memorial Invitational tournament.

RECORDS
Amherst: 1-0
Johnson State: 0-2

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Amherst jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first 2:33 of the game, and never looked back.
• Five players scored in double-figures for the Purple & White. Eric Conklin '17 and Jayde Dawson '18 each had 15, Jeff Racy '17 went 4-of-8 from three-point range for 14 points, and David George '17 and Johnny McCarthy '18 had 11 each. Reid Berman '17 led the team with five assists, while three others recorded four a piece. George had a game-high eight rebounds, and Connor Green '16 and McCarthy added seven each.
• Amherst shot 46.9% (38-81) from the field, 37.8% (14-37) from downtown, and 66.7% (14-21) from the free throw line. The home team scored 21 points off turnovers, and outscored the Badgers 41-16 in the paint. Amherst also outrebounded the Badgers, 59-30.
• Johnson State was led by Dontell Glover with nine points, and Derek Ashley and Rahim Bunch each had eight. Asim Khan had a team-high five rebounds, while Ashely dished out three assists.
• The Badgers shot 29.8% (17-57) from the field, 18.8% (3-16) from beyond-the-arc, and 78.9% (15-19) from the charity stripe.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• Racy scored all of his 14 points in the first 20 minutes of action Friday night. Conklin added eight points off the bench, the only non-starter to score in the first half, as Amherst shot 50% (21-42) from the floor.
• Racy made three treys in the first 6:21 of the game, including one at the 15:37 mark to put the home team ahead, 14-3.
• Johnson State responded with an 11-3 run before a McCarthy three-pointer put Amherst back up by six.
• Following the Badgers brief run, Amherst went on to outscore its opponent 37-13 over the next 12:31 to take a 54-27 lead at the break.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• Early in the opening minutes of the second half, a steal by Dawson led to a fast break dunk as he put Amherst ahead, 62-33.  Following a pair of free throws from the sophomore point guard just under a minute later, which put the team back up by 29, Amherst rattled off 18 unanswered points. 
• The Purple & White's bench scored 37 in the final 20 minutes of action and were led by Diego Magana '17 who finished with seven points as he went 2-of-3 from downtown. Michael Riopel '18 finished with six points on 6-of-6 shooting from the free throw line, and Joseph Schneider '19 recorded three blocks in just seven minutes of action in his first collegiate game.

UP NEXT

• Amherst advances to the championship game of the Ken Wright '52 Invitational tomorrow, and will play Worcester State (2-1) at 3 p.m. The Lancers defeated Suffolk (0-2) Friday night, 77-64.
• Johnson State will play in the consolation game tomorrow at 1 p.m. against Suffolk.