Field Level Media
Nov 28, 2020
Senior forward Justin Smith had 18 points to help lead Arkansas to a 69-54 home win over North Texas on Saturday at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark.
Smith shot 7 of 13 from the field and also added six rebounds and three steals for the Razorbacks (2-0).
Three other players scored in double figures for Arkansas. Junior guard J.D. Notae came off of the bench to score 16 points and pull down six rebounds, junior guard Desi Sills scored 14 points and freshman guard Moses Moody added 11 points in the win for Arkansas.
Junior forward Terence Lewis II scored 12 points off the bench and senior forward Zachary Simmons had 10 points and seven rebounds in defeat for North Texas (1-1).
After an even beginning of the game, Arkansas finally started to gain some separation in the final seven minutes of the first half.
With the game tied 19-19, Arkansas went on a 10-0 run to take a 29-19 lead with 4:51 remaining left in the opening half. Notae scored seven points on the run, with Moses adding the other three.
Arkansas eventually took a 38-27 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Arkansas continued to build its lead to start the second half, going up by 20 at 47-27 with 16:11 remaining in the game.
North Texas mounted a 7-0 run to cut its deficit to 13 points with 14:07 left after a three-point play by Lewis and pulled within 10 at 55-45 with 9:44 remaining thanks to a Lewis 3-pointer.
But the Razorbacks delivered a back-breaking surge, going on a 9-1 run on scores by four different players to take a 64-46 lead with 6:41 remaining.
North Texas couldn't put another dent in the Arkansas lead after that.
Both teams committed 16 turnovers, had 10 assists and struggled to shoot the ball from 3-point range. North Texas was 2-for-13 from 3-point range, while Arkansas was 6-for-22.
The Razorbacks went 17-of-33 on 2-point attempts and held a slight edge on the boards, outrebounding North Texas 40-36.
--Field Level Media