AMHERST, Mass. – Senior Robert Nwankwo had a double-double by halftime, but it wasn't enough as the University of Massachusetts defeated Towson Wednesday evening, 86-56, at the Mullins Center.

Towson (0-6), which has played the ninth toughest non-conference schedule in the country entering the week, has opened the season playing five of six games on the road. The youthful Tigers once again struggled maintaining possession, committing 26 turnovers.

UMass (6-2) scored 37 points off turnovers and all 11 Minutemen scored in the contest. UMass made 13 three-point field goals while shooting 46.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Nwankwo continued his stellar play for the Tigers, finish the game with 19 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. The senior forward, who tallied 15 points and 11 rebounds in the first half alone, now has three double-doubles in six games.

Towson won the battle of the boards for the fourth time this season, owning a 50-43 advantage on the glass. The Tigers also had an 18-4 advantage in second chance points.

UMass, however, had 23 assists on 31 made baskets. Jesse Morgan dished out a game-high nine assists, while Chaz Williams had eight dimes. Freddie Riley led all Minutemen with 15 points.

UMass netted the first five points of the game, but Towson kept it close for the first nine minutes. Trailing 14-9 after a Nwankwo lay-in at the 11:30 mark, the Minutemen scored the next 14 points and led by as many as 22 in the opening stanza.

The Tigers finished the first half on a 10-4 run to go into the intermission trailing 44-28.

The Towson momentum continued into the second half as Nwankwo converted a traditional three-point play to cut the UMass lead to 13. It was all Minutemen from that point though as they went on a 36-13 run to take their biggest lead of the game, 80-44, at the 5:42 mark.

Towson scored 12 of the final 18 points of the game

The Tigers play five of their next six games at home, starting with their Colonial Athletic Association opener against George Mason on Saturday. Tip time is set for 7:30 p.m. from the Towson Center and all fans attending the NCAA FCS Football Playoff game between Towson and Lehigh on Saturday afternoon at Johnny Unitas® can attend the Tigers' men's basketball game free of charge.