#9/10 Arkansas Improves to 8-0; Beats Little Rock 93-78

Mike Cawood December 4, 2021

FAYETTEVILLE – JD Notae scored 18 points (16 in the second half) and Au’Diese Toney scored 18 points (16 in the first half) to lead #9/10 Arkansas to a 93-78 victory over Little Rock Saturday afternoon at Bud Walton Arena.

With the win, Arkansas improves to 8-0, marking the third straight year the Razorbacks have started at least 8-0 under head coach Eric Musselman.

Notae drained two triples and had two key steals in the second half. Toney made 6-of-7 from the field, 5-of-9 from the line and grabbed eight rebounds.

Davonte Davis added 16 points as he dished out a career-high seven assists with zero turnovers. All seven helpers came in the first half and 10 of his 16 points were in the second half. Thanks to Davis, Arkansas handed out 20 assists to mark the second straight game and fourth time this season with 20-plus.

Chris Lykes contributed 14 points, making 6-of-7 at the free throw line. Jaylin Williams finished with his usual solid stat line with nine points, seven rebounds and four assists.

The Trojans got to within nine points twice inside the final seven minutes before Notae spurred two mini runs to keep Arkansas comfortably in the lead.

First, with 7:04 left and Arkansas leading 76-67, Notae had a steal and a layup. He followed that with two free throws and a second steal with a layup.

Then, with 4:10 left and Arkansas up 82-73, the Razorbacks went on a 7-0 run to put the game out of reach. Notae started things with a 3-pointer and Lykes went 4-of-4 at the line.

Marko Lukic led Little Rock with 23 points, making 3-of-5 from 3-point range in the second half, while Isaiah Palermo recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Arkansas closes its current four-game homestand by hosting Charlotte on Tuesday (Dec. 7). Tip-off is set for 8:00 pm and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

FIRST HALF: Arkansas: 49 – Little Rock: 34

Arkansas led by 15 at the break but only led by four with 4:24 left in the period.
The Razorbacks finished the half on a 15-4 run.
Au’Diese Toney led Arkansas with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Davonte Davis had seven assists in the first half, which surpassed his previous career-best of six assists.
Arkansas shot 61.3% from the field.
Made its first 3-pointer of the game but missed its next 10. Overall, UALR was just 1-of-11 (9.1%) from 3-point range in the period

SECOND HALF: Arkansas: 44 – Little Rock: 44

Marko Lukic made 3 of his first 4 triples of the half to get the Trojans to within seven (64-57) with 12:55 left.
The Trojans made 7-of-10 from deep in the second half to stay in the game.

GAME NOTES

Arkansas’ starting lineup was Davonte Davis – JD Notae – Au’Diese Toney – Jaylin Williams – Connor Vanover for the seventh straight game.
Arkansas won the tip for the seventh time in eight games.
JD Notae scored the game’s first points, a runner in the lane at 19:43.
Stanley Umude was the first Razorback sub.
The rebounds were even at 31-31. For the second time, Arkansas had single-digit offensive rebounds.
However, Arkansas shot 56.7% from the field. It was the third straight game to shoot over 50% from the field and the fourth time this season.
JD Notae entered the game as the SEC’s leading scorer and was 3rd in the NCAA in steals. He is the only Razorback to score in double figures in all eight games.

For more information on Arkansas Men’s Basketball, follow @RazorbackMBB on Twitter.