The Hamilton College men's basketball team opened up a 19-point lead in the first half and the Continentals went on to an 88-72 non-conference win against the Centenary University Cyclones in Hackettstown, N.J., on Sunday afternoon.

Hamilton (5-2 overall) averages 86.0 points and owns a plus-9.4 rebound margin per game. The Continentals shot 64 percent from the field and were a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line in the first half as they built a 48-31 advantage at the break.

Michael Grassey '19 led Hamilton with 22 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth career double-double. Grassey has scored 65 points in the last three games and he leads the team with 8.1 rebounds per contest.

Andrew Groll '19 posted his second double-double in as many days and his 10th for the Continentals with 12 points and 10 boards. Peter Hoffmann '19 dropped in 18 points before he fouled out with 5:58 left in the second half. Joe Pucci '18 chipped in eight points and eight rebounds, and Kyle Pitman '17 contributed eight points off the bench.

Jack Dwyer '18 was credited with nine assists and four steals for Hamilton. Dwyer is averaging 6.3 assists per game and is second in the NESCAC with 44.

The Continentals shot 53.7 percent from the floor, including 8 of 22 from 3-point range, and went 22-for-30 at the free throw line for 73.3 percent. Hamilton nearly doubled Centenary's rebound total, 47-24.

Rashaan Spencer poured in a game-high 28 points for the Cyclones (4-4). Spencer added five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Paul Jones scored 14 points and Tom Weiler pulled down five boards and made four of Centenary's 13 steals.

A 3-pointer by Pucci put the Continentals into the lead for good at 5-4 early in the first half. A Spencer trifecta pulled the Cyclones within 10-9 but Hamilton responded with a 16-2 run for a 15-point cushion.

Grassey started the spurt with a 3-pointer and Hoffmann sank a pair of free throws. A layup by Centenary's Hamp Smith cut the Cyclones' deficit to 15-11 before Hoffmann drained a 3-pointer and Grassey made a layup and tipped in a Hoffmann miss. Hoffmann finished off a fast break with a dunk after a steal by Grassey and Vincent Conn '20 gave the Continentals a 26-11 lead on two free throws with 11:38 left.

Hamilton led by as many as 19 points on three occasions late in the first half. A Pitman 3-pointer with five seconds remaining gave the Continentals a 48-31 advantage at the half. Grassey scored 17 points in the opening 20 minutes.

The closest Centenary was able to get in the second half was seven points on a 3-point play by Spencer that made it 74-67 with 5:58 to go. Two free throws by Groll and a long-range bomb by Pitman pushed Hamilton's lead back to 12 at 79-67.

The Continentals travel to Bard College for another non-conference game on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 1 p.m.