National Basketball Association
Arkansas 56, Wofford 53
When: 9:50 PM ET, Thursday, March 19, 2015
Where: Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida
Officials:
# Chris Beaver, # Jose Carrion, # Mike Roberts
Attendance:
12761
By SportsDirect Inc.
Arkansas 56, Wofford 53: Michael Qualls scored 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting as the fifth-seeded Razorbacks survived a nip-and-tuck affair in the round of 64 in NCAA Tournament play at Jacksonville, Fla.
Bobby Portis had 15 points and 13 rebounds for Arkansas (27-8), which takes on No. 4 seed North Carolina in Saturday's round of 32. Alandise Harris chipped in eight points - including a big three-point play down the stretch - and eight boards to help the Razorbacks to their first tournament win since 2008.
Spencer Collins led the 12th-seeded Terriers (28-7) with 16 points and a season-high nine rebounds while leading scorer Karl Cochran had 12 points on 4-of-19 shooting. Jaylen Allen hit 3-of-4 3-pointers en route to 12 points for Wofford, which shot 31.6 percent.
Neither team led by more than five points in a tight first half as Wofford carried a 28-27 lead into the locker room after Allen's 3-pointer in the final minute. Qualls had a thunderous dunk and a jumper in the early moments of the second half to give Arkansas a 33-30 lead, but Cochran's 3-pointer and Allen's three-point play helped the Terriers take a one-point edge with less than 12 minutes to go.
Qualls had two more slams to put the Razorbacks on top again and Portis had two free throws, an assist and a layup in a short span to help Arkansas claim a 53-51 lead with a little over two minutes left. Harris snapped a tie moments later with his three-point play and the Terriers missed two open 3-point tries in the final 10 seconds, including one at the buzzer by Eric Garcia.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Wofford fell to 0-4 in the tournament. ... Arkansas was given a delay-of-game warning in the first half after G Rashad Madden lost his shoe, kicked it to the sidelines and had another thrown onto the floor by a teammate. ... The Razorbacks also played North Carolina in the round of 32 in their last appearance in 2008, falling 108-77.
Top Game Performances
Wofford |
|
Arkansas |
Spencer Collins 16 |
Scoring |
Michael Qualls 20 |
Karl Cochran 3 |
Assists |
Rashad Madden 5 |
Spencer Collins 9 |
Rebounds |
Bobby Portis 13 |
Spencer Collins 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Bobby Portis 5 |
Karl Cochran 2 |
Steals |
Anton Beard 2 |
Justin Gordon 1 |
Blocks |
Jacorey Williams 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Wofford
|
53 |
31.6 |
7-24 |
10-16 |
7 |
35 |
1 |
5 |
8 |
Arkansas
|
56 |
45.8 |
3-8 |
9-16 |
13 |
34 |
3 |
4 |
10 |