FAYETTEVILLE — It wasn't a smooth as Friday night's win, but the Hogs have to be pleased with their second-half effort.
After shooting just 31 percent from the field in the first half, Arkansas hit 6 of its first 8 shots to jump-start a 48-point second half en route to an 81-54 win over Northeastern (Okla.) State on Tuesday night at Bud Walton Arena.
Coty Clarke scored 16 points and Anthlon Bell scored 15 to lead the Razorbacks. Clarke, who also had 7 rebounds, finished 7 of 9 from the floor, making him 11 of 13 in field goals in two exhibition games.
Bell hit two early 3-pointers, but struggled to hit from beyond the arc after that. He was able to compensate with four 2-pointers over the game's final 35 minutes.
The Hogs out-rebounded the RiverHawks 48-35, their second straight game with 48 rebounds. Alandise Harris (10 points, 8 rebounders) led all rebounders and the Hogs totaled 18 offensive rebounds. Harris came off the bench as Coach Mike Anderson elected to start a three-guard lineup against the smaller RiverHawks.
After a phenomenal debut, freshman Bobby Portis struggled, scoring just 2 points on 1 of 8 from the floor. He helped the team in other ways, grabbing 6 rebounds and recording a team-high 6 assists. Portis blocked a pair of shots as part of a 10-block effort by the team, which was led by Harris' 4 blocks.
After a sluggish 33-26 lead at the half in which the Hogs were just 12 of 39 from the field, the Hogs went on a 10-2 run to open the second half. Clarke had 6 points and Bell had the other 4 on the run. The Razorbacks were 19 of 32 (59 percent) from the field in the second half. The 3-point struggles did continue, however, as the Hogs hit just 6 of 25 attempts from beyond the arc.
The Razorbacks held Northeastern State to just 35 percent from the field.
Arkansas opens the 2013-14 regular season on Friday night against SIU-Edwardsville at Bud Walton Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:05 pm.