Jimmy Whitt, Jr. scored 22 points, and two other Arkansas players scored at least 18, as the Razorbacks defeated the TCU Horned Frogs 78-67 on Saturday in a Big 12/SEC Challenge game at Fayetteville, Ark.
Whitt was supported by teammates Mason Jones, who scored 20 points and made 10 free throws, and Desi Sills, who finished with 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the field. Whitt, Sills and Jones combined to score 60 of the Razorbacks' 78 points.
Arkansas (15-4) separated itself from TCU by hitting 21 of 41 2-point field goal attempts (51.2 percent). The Razorbacks attempted only nine 3-pointers and made six of them, while TCU (13-6) finished 6 of 19 on 3-pointers. Arkansas finished 27 of 50 from the field (54 percent).
Arkansas also forced 19 TCU turnovers, and collected five steals. Sills had two of them.
In the first half, Arkansas led by seven points on multiple occasions, but never by more. TCU stayed close at halftime, trailing 33-29 at the intermission. Early in the second half, Arkansas led by nine at 38-29, but TCU produced a 6-0 run to quickly narrow its deficit to 38-35. The game remained close for the next few minutes, with Arkansas leading 51-46 with 11:39 left in regulation.
Then the Razorbacks went on a 12-2 run over nearly four minutes to grab a 63-48 lead with 7:45 remaining. Jones made three foul shots to start that run. Then, Whitt hit a jumper, Sills nailed a 3-pointer, Jones made a layup and Sills added another basket to complete the run.
TCU sliced that 15-point deficit to 71-62 with 2:33 left, but the Horned Frogs didn't come any closer.
Kevin Samuel scored 24 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to lead TCU. Samuel hit 9 of 12 field goal attempts and added made six free throws.
--Field Level Media
Texas Christian | Arkansas | |
Kevin Samuel 24 | Scoring | Mason Jones 20 |
Desmond Bane 5 | Assists | Jalen Harris 6 |
Kevin Samuel 18 | Rebounds | Adrio Bailey 6 |
Kevin Samuel 6 | Free Throws Made | Mason Jones 10 |
PJ Fuller 1 | Steals | Desi Sills 2 |
Kevin Samuel 2 | Blocks | Adrio Bailey 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Texas Christian | 67 | 48.0 | 6-19 | 13-20 | 11 | 30 | 3 | 3 | 19 |
Arkansas | 78 | 54.0 | 6-9 | 18-25 | 14 | 24 | 2 | 5 | 12 |