FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas players admitted hanging their heads for much of the six-day break between a Dec. 22 loss to Appalachian State and Saturday’s game against Louisiana-Monroe.

When the Razorbacks showed some lingering symptoms of the hangover even after Saturday’s tipoff against the Warhawks, Coach John Pelphrey came up with a remedy of his own.

“Today wasn’t a day where I felt like they needed a pat on the back,” Pelphrey said. “I felt like they needed a kick in the rear end.”

Arkansas responded to Pelphrey’s prodding by outscoring Louisiana-Monroe 23-6 over a span of 12: 15 that covered parts of both halves en route to a convincing and cathartic 85-60 victory before a crowd of 15, 348 at Walton Arena.

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“We need to get amped up and play that way every game,” said Charles Thomas, who scored all 12 of his points during the gameturning stretch.

Arkansas (10-3 ) also got 17 points each from seniors Sonny Weems and Darian Townes and sophomore Patrick Beverley while handing Louisiana-Monroe (6-7 ) its second-worst defeat this season. Then-No. 4 Kansas beat the Warhawks 107-78 in both teams’ season-opener.

“They really defended us in the second half,” Louisiana-Monroe Coach Orlando Early said of the Razorbacks. “We just couldn’t get the ball to go into the basket, and a lot of that has to do with their defense and how they played.”

Arkansas largely abandoned the pressing schemes Pelphrey prefers in favor of an aggressive halfcourt scheme designed to limit Louisiana-Monroe’s threepoint shooting. The Warhawks averaged 9. 3 three-pointers per game coming into Saturday’s contest and had made 10 or more in four games this season.

Senior guard Jonas Brown, who finished with a game-high 21 points, got Louisiana-Monroe off to a fast start in that regard against Arkansas, making three in the opening 8: 07 as the Warhawks hung within 23-19. Louisiana-Monroe eventually took a 26-25 advantage before Townes scored on a putback to give Arkansas the lead for good 9: 49 before halftime.

Arkansas led 38-36 before the Razorbacks put the clamps on the Warhawks’ shooters while extending their lead to 46-38 in the closing minutes of the first half.

“I was pretty hard on them, to be honest with you, throughout the majority of the first half until that 3: 00 mark, when I thought they started doing things right,” Pelphrey said. “I had a short fuse.

“ I was very adamant about what I wanted to get done, and our coaching staff had put a lot of time in to make sure we knew what our game plan was to get ourselves in a position to bounce back, and it was almost like I had to impose my will on them.”

The second half was more a case of the bigger, deeper Razorbacks imposing their will on the Warhawks, who played without starting guard Lance Brasher (back ) and key reserve Brandon Roberts (knee ). Louisiana-Monroe made just one field goal in the first 9: 24 of the second half and only two threepointers in the entire period.

“We came out the second half and shut them down,” Weems said.

Arkansas blew open the game by getting 11 points from Weems and 10 from Thomas in the second half after Beverley and Townes scored 13 each in the first half. The Razorbacks’ 22 assists were the second-most in any game this season.

Pelphrey’s mood had changed enough to give Thomas a hug as he made his way to the bench with 4: 40 remaining.

“Coach Pelphrey’s a great guy,” Thomas said. “He’s real emotional, he has a love for the game, and when you do good, he praises you. When you do bad, he’ll let you know, too.”

Pelphrey showed a little bit of both Saturday, but ended the day mostly pleased with the way Arkansas finally shed the prolonged pain of its loss to Appalachian State.

“Our whole deal has got to be consistency — consistency taking care of the ball, consistency getting our best shot, consistency with our defense and rebounding,” Pelphrey said. “It’s not a small word even when you spell it, and it’s a really important thing, just to be consistent doing the ordinary things over and over and over.

“ That takes mental toughness, so that’s what we’re shooting for, and I’m certainly excited about today.” Game sketch RECORDS Arkansas is 10-3; Louisiana-Monroe is 6-7 STARS Sonny Weems, Patrick Beverley and Darian Townes scored 17 points each for Arkansas. Jonas Brown had a game-high 21 for Louisiana-Monroe. TURNING POINT Arkansas closed the first half on an 8-2 run, then outscored Louisiana-Monroe 15-4 to open the second half. KEY STAT Louisiana-Monroe entered the game averaging 9. 3 three-pointers per game, but made 6 of 20 against Arkansas. UP NEXT Arkansas plays Baylor on Jan. 5 in Dallas.