LEXINGTON, Ky. - Transylvania used a career day from Ethan Spurlin to fend off Spalding 67-52 in the men's basketball season-opener at the Beck Center on Tuesday.

Spurlin shot a sparkling 80 percent (8-for-10) from the field and scored a career-high 22 points. He missed a double-double by a single rebound, finishing with nine.

Spurlin was joined in double figures by Brandon Rash, who had 15. Rash, a first-team All-HCAC performer last year, also chipped in three rebounds.

Barrett Meyer and Tate Cox both added nine points, and Chris Owens had eight points to go with five rebounds on the evening.

Transy (1-0) built a 36-21 halftime lead thanks to a strong defensive effort and spectacular shooting. The Pioneers forced 12 Golden Eagle turnovers in the first half and shot 48.1 percent from the floor (44.4 percent from behind the arc).

Spalding fought to within ten points in the second half, but couldn't cool off the Pioneers' hot shooting. Transy maintained a 52.2 percent (24-46) clip for the game, 43.8 percent (7-16) from the three-point line.

Jametrius Brasher led Spalding (0-1) with 16 points and seven rebounds, with Brandon Gabriel adding eight points and five boards for the Golden Eagles, who went 19-9 last year and won the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Transy, who is the preseason favorite to win the Heartland Conference this year, has defended its home court well of late, winning 13 of its last 15 contests at the Beck Center.

The Pioneers are back in action at home on Tuesday, taking on archrival Centre at 6 p.m. The game will be aired live on WKYT-Channel 27 in Lexington.