AMHERST, Mass. -- For nearly 37 minutes Friday, the Amherst College men's basketball team could not grab the lead in its battle versus Vermont State University Castleton in the first game of the Mammoths' Ken Wright Invitational.

Once the Mammoths found a way to secure a lead, they would not let it go, scoring the final 11 points of the game to surge past Castleton for a 59-54 victory.

Amherst (1-1) will face MCLA (3-1) in the championship of the invitational Saturday at 2 p.m. in LeFrak Gymnasium. 

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* Trailing by seven at the half, 34-27, after shooting just 25.9 percent from the floor and turning the ball over 13 times, the Mammoths road to a comeback began with a Will Scherer dunk to open the second half.

* Still, the road to victory was filled with potholes. and after gaining their first tie of the night with 15:20 left off a mid-range jumper by Giovanni Tam in the paint, the Mammoths would not take their first lead for another 12 minutes. 

* First-year Johnny McCain was a spark for Amherst in the second half, scoring 6 of his team-high 13 points. Scherer, who played in foul trouble much of the game, scored all 8 of his points in the final 20 minutes, while Chris Hammond had 5 of his 12. 

* A McCain three-ball of the left wing with 11:10 remaining tied the game at 40-all. and the Mammoths would also forge ties at 42 and 44-all before slipping behind 54-48 when Joe Russell knocked down a trey for the Spartans with 4:52 to go. 

* Castleton would not score again. McCain drained a three-pointer to make it a one-point game at 54-53 with 3:35 left. On VTSU's ensuing possession, Ryker Vance came up with a big block of a three attempt from the left corner. He then raced down the court, grabbed an offensive rebound, got fouled as he scored the putback, and hit the free throw for a 56-54 lead - the Mammoths' first -- with 3:07 remaining. 

* The visitors got cold from the floor, going 0 for 7 from the field in the final 187 seconds. With 1:23 left, Mohammed Alausa defined timely basket when he knocked down a three-pointer -- his only field goal of the game -- for a 59-54 lead that held up. 

* After turning the ball over 13 times in the first half, the Mammoths only had 5 turnovers over the final 20 minutes. After shooting 25.9 percent in the first half, they shot 46.4 (13 for 28) from the floor in the second.

BY THE NUMBERS:

* McCain led the Mammoths with his aforementioned 13 points in his first collegiate game. He played 22 minutes and went 3 of 10 from the floor, and 4 of 4 from the foul line with a rebound and a steal. 

* Hammond had 7 rebounds and 3 blocks to go with his 12 points. Scherer had 8 points in 9 rebounds in 19 minutes of action. Bobby Sommers came through with 8 points -- two big second-half field goals - to go with 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Vance was a force on both ends of the court with 6 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks in the win.