JD Notae had 22 points and six assists, Jalen Tate supplied 17 points and 11 assists, and unbeaten Arkansas pulled away for a 100-75 victory over winless Central Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark., on Saturday.
Desi Sills contributed 17 points and four assists for Arkansas (6-0), while Moses Moody had 15 points and seven rebounds. Justin Smith added 12 points as the Razorbacks had a 54-32 advantage in points in the paint. The Razorbacks shot 52.6 percent from the field.
Deandre Jones and Rylan Bergersen had 13 points apiece for Central Arkansas (0-4). SK Shittu added 11 points and eight rebounds and Jared Chatham chipped in 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Tate and Sills scored 10 points apiece as Arkansas overcame a sluggish start and grabbed a 41-35 halftime advantage. The Bears were led by Jones, who made a trio of 3-pointers.
Central Arkansas scored the first six points and held the lead for the first 12 minutes.
A 12-0 Arkansas run allowed the home team to take control. Tate scored five of those points and Notae finished it off with a layup.
Jaxson Baker's 3-pointer ended that outburst and forged the final tie of the game at 28 apiece.
The Razorbacks then reeled off the next 10 points. Central Arkansas scored seven of the half's last 10 points.
The Bears were still down only eight, 45-37, when Bergersen made a pair of free throws.
A 6-0 spurt that included two Sills layups stretched the Razorbacks' lead to 14.
Bergersen and Shittu refused to let their team go quietly. They scored nine of the Bears' next 11 points to close the gap to eight again at 56-48.
A Baker 3-pointer with 9:50 remaining cut Arkansas' lead to 64-58.
The Bears wouldn't get any closer but the differential was still in single digits at 69-60 with just over eight minutes left. The Razorbacks then ended all suspense with a 16-2 eruption.
Sills got it started with a three-point play. Notae then scored 10 of Arkansas' next 12 points, capped by a pair of 3-pointers. That made it 85-62 with five minutes remaining.
--Field Level Media
Central Arkansas | Arkansas | |
Rylan Bergersen 13 | Scoring | JD Notae 22 |
Deandre Jones 7 | Assists | Jalen Tate 11 |
Jared Chatham 10 | Rebounds | Connor Vanover 10 |
Rylan Bergersen 4 | Free Throws Made | JD Notae 2 |
Deandre Jones 3 | Steals | JD Notae 3 |
SK Shittu 1 | Blocks | Justin Smith 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Central Arkansas | 75 | 42.4 | 9-26 | 10-12 | 14 | 35 | 1 | 5 | 14 |
Arkansas | 100 | 52.6 | 12-30 | 8-9 | 26 | 30 | 8 | 10 | 8 |