Bench Play Leads Arkansas Past Missouri State

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -Arkansas’ Gary Ervin and Michael Washington both scored 12 points Monday night to lead the Razorbacks to a 70-51 victory over Missouri State.

Washington, a sophomore forward, had his first career double-double with a career-high 12 rebounds. Overall, the Razorbacks (7-1) scored 36 points off the bench and 28 points off Missouri State’s 23 turnovers.

Missouri State (4-2) led early in the game by taking advantage of open lanes to the basket, getting three easy layups from Justin Fuehrmeyer, Deven Mitchell and Dale Lamberth. Leading Missouri State’s offense overall was Mitchell with 12 points and Chris Cooks with 11.

Arkansas quickly came back before halftime and cut the Bears’ lead to three points after two quick 3-pointers from Ervin and Sonny Weems. The Razorbacks also had an important 13-2 run at the end of the first half to help them go into halftime with a 5-point lead, 36-31.

Arkansas guard Patrick Beverley, averaging 14.1 points this season, was practically nonexistent throughout the game, scoring only two points in the first half. In all, Beverley scored a season-low six points after shooting only 22 percent from the floor, but he had five rebounds, three assists, three steals and a blocked shot.

Missouri State, which is now 0-3 against Arkansas under coach Barry Hinson, had chances to stay in the game in the second half, but missed shots on most of its offensive possessions.

The Bears, who pulled down 30 rebounds to Arkansas’ 42 rebounds, only shot 21.9 percent from the floor in the second half. Arkansas recorded a season-high 16 steals and forced MSU into 23 turnovers.

The Razorbacks are off for semester exams until Dec. 12 when they play host to Texas-San Antonio in a 7:05 p.m. game televised by the Arkansas Razorback Sports Network.