Razorbacks Top Tennessee for Third Straight Win

Box Score (PDF)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A big game by the Arkansas backcourt led the Hogs to a 75-65 victory at Tennessee on Saturday night. The Razorbacks got double-digit performances from Dusty Hannahs (17), Anthlon Bell (16) and Anton Beard (10) in the 10-point victory as they improved to 15-14 on the season, including an 8-8 mark in SEC play.

After the Volunteers jumped out to a 4-0 early lead, Arkansas hit three straight threes to get things going on the offensive end. In all, the Razorbacks went 9-for-19 from beyond the arc, led by Bell’s 4-of-6 performance and Hannahs’ 3-of-4 mark. The two combined for 21 points in the first half, as Arkansas went into the locker room with a 34-33 lead.

In a back-and-forth contest to open the second frame, Moses Kingsley led the way early. After scoring two points in the first half, the junior forward scored seven of the first 10 Razorback points of the second period, but the Arkansas lead only stood at 44-41 at the under-16 timeout.

Halfway through the second frame, the Razorbacks held Tennessee to two points in 5:15, going on a 10-2 run in the process. Arkansas’ lead ballooned to 11 with nine minutes remaining and it never went below seven for the rest of the contest. Beard scored all 10 of his points in the second half, going 3-for-5 from the field and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe.

Kingsley finished just shy of his fifth-consecutive double-double, but still had nine points, eight rebounds, four assists and four blocks in 28 minutes. It was a complete team effort, as nine Razorbacks played 15-plus minutes with eight scoring five or more points.

QUOTABLES
“Any win for us this time of year is big, isn’t it? Kudos to our guys. I thought they had the energy and the right mindset. I thought our energy was good from the beginning to the end. Our defense was excellent, especially in the second half” — Head coach Mike Anderson

“I’m excited to see what our guys are doing right now. This time of year I get excited because my body tells me it’s getting close to the postseason. Our team is built for this time of the year; our depth is really paying off.” — Head coach Mike Anderson

QUICK HITS
• Over the last four games, Jabril Durham has 25 assists and zero turnovers.
• Trey Thompson played 20 minutes in consecutive games for the third time this season, scoring five points and grabbing seven rebounds.
• With a 3-for-4 performance from three-point range, Dusty Hannahs is now 14-for-28 from deep over the last four games.
• Anthlon Bell has hit a three-pointer in all 29 games this season.
• Anton Beard has scored in double figures twice in the last 10 games; both times against Tennessee.
• This was Arkansas’ first win in Thompson Boiling Arena since Feb. 25, 2006, when the Razorbacks upset No. 10 Tennessee 73-69.
• In the last three seasons, Arkansas has won on the road against nine of the 13 SEC schools, with the opportunity to make it 10 against Alabama on Wednesday.
• The Razorbacks swept their second opponent in the last week, the first being SEC rival Missouri on Feb. 20.
• Mike Anderson is now 5-2 all-time against Rick Barnes, with five of those meetings taking place when both coaches were in the Big 12 Conference.

UP NEXT
Arkansas will play one more regular season road game, traveling to Alabama to take on the Crimson Tide on Wednesday, March 2. Tip-off in Coleman Coliseum is slated for 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network.