AMHERST — For two full quarters, Thursday night’s boys basketball game between Amherst Regional and Springfield Central was as evenly matched as could be.

But coming out of halftime, Central opened up its offense to the tune of 45 second-half points, and ran away with a 78-55 win over the Hurricanes.

Central’s Jorge Torres led all scorers with 26 points. Amherst senior captain Tate Rietkerk led the Hurricanes with 17, while fellow captain Kyle Murray added 14 and five rebounds.

“I told them we had to turn it up a notch,” said Central coach Darryl Denson of his halftime speech. “We weren’t playing the basketball that us coaches teach. So we told them don’t play what you know, play what you’ve been taught. Solid offense and solid defense.

“They came out and executed.”

The teams went shot for shot in the first half, with the score tied at 11 after the first quarter and tied again at 33 going into halftime. It was Amherst’s offense that stood out early with its efficient shooting from deep — the Hurricanes were 6 of 13 from 3-point range entering the break, and the Golden Eagles looked stumped.

Central’s three-quarter press barely fazed Amherst’s offense in the first half, as the Hurricanes utilized crafty ball movement to get behind the aggressive defense. But the Golden Eagles backed off after halftime, opting to play more conservative defense and forcing Amherst to settle for outside shots.

“Third quarter, we didn’t get the shots that we wanted or we needed,” Amherst captain Kyle Murray said. “We really strayed away from the game we played in the first half.”

Central went on a 16-2 run in the first four minutes of the third, outplaying the Hurricanes on both sides of the floor. Several alley-oop dunks by Torres and junior Hason Ward sparked Central.

Amherst’s ball control became sloppier as the game went on, as the team turned the ball over 11 times in the final two quarters.

“They woke up after halftime,” said Amherst coach Jim Matuszko of Central. “We did exactly what we wanted in the first half … but staying in it against these guys for all 32 minutes is a tough task. They’re a great team.”

Amherst is back home Monday night to host Northampton (11-3). Northampton beat the Hurricanes, 76-57, in both teams’ season opener.