AMHERST, Mass. _ The Massachusetts Minutemen hit 16 three-pointers and pulled away from the University of Central Arkansas Bears in the second half of Thursday night's 89-62 non-conference victory at the Mullins Center.

    The Minutemen (3-0) shot 55.2 percent from beyond the arc (16 of 29) and held the Bears (0-2) to just 32.3 percent (21 of 65) shooting overall. UCA was just 2 of 14 from three-point range after connecting on 11 threes in last Saturday's season-opening loss at Tulsa.

    UMass entered the game shooting just 24.4 percent from three-point range in two victories.

    "They shot the ball extremely well,' said UCA associate head coach Anthony Boone. "Better than anybody we've played against. And they're not necessarily known for that. They have some good, athletic guards who are known for getting to the basket, and we were certainly working on that.    

    "But they hit their open shots, and they got some confidence. And then even when they weren't open, they were hitting them.'
    
    UMass senior guard Jabarie Hinds tied his career high with 24 points, hitting 6 of 10 three-point attempts. Donte Clark added 19 pionts, while Trey Davis scored 17 and Zach Coleman had 10. UCA was led junior guard Jeff Lowery and sophomore guard Jordan Howard with 11 points each, and senior forward Justin Foreman with 10.

    UCA made 31 trips to the free-throw line but made only 18 for 58.1 percent.

    "We weren't as patient offensively as we normally are,' said Boone. "We took some quick shots, which led to them getting to score in transition. We actually gained a little ground early in the first half, but they just kept hitting those shots and we didn't adjust on our end offensively. 

    "We still weren't very patient, we still weren't making the extra passes, hitting the open guy like we need to. And that was the difference in the game.'

    The Minutemen made 8 of 18 from three-point range in the first half to turn a 15-14 deficit at the 12:31 mark of the first half into a 41-30 halftime lead. UMass outscored UCA 

    Howard led the Bears with 11 points in the first half, including UCA's only three pointer. The Bears were just 1 of 6 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes, and 1 of 8 in the second half. UCA outscored UMass in the paint 30-26 and held its own on the boards, losing that battle 42-39. Sophomore forward Mathieu Kamba had a team-high 7, while C.J. Anderson had 12 rebounds for the Minutemen.

    The matchup was the opening round of the Men Who Speak Up Main Event. UCA will continue its road trip this weekend, taking on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway, New Jersey. The Bears then head to Las Vegas to take on UT San Antonio on Monday at the MGM Grand. The winner/loser takes on the winner/loser of Texas Southern/Howard on Wednesday.