COLLEGE BASKETBALL ARKANSAS 85, TENNESSEE 67

No doubt about it

Hogs don’t let up after jumping on Vols early

Dusty Hannahs of Arkansas drives to the basket as Kevin Punter, Jr. (0), Armani Moore (4) and Kyle Alexander (11) of Tennessee defend on Saturday Feb. 6, 2016, during the game in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- There was no big comeback for Tennessee on Saturday night.

Arkansas jumped ahead and stayed ahead to beat the Vols 85-67 in Walton Arena before an announced crowd of 14,093.

Tennessee, which trailed by 17 points in the first half, couldn't duplicate its 84-77 victory over Kentucky on Tuesday night at home when they rallied from a 21-point deficit.

Game sketch

RECORDS Arkansas 12-11, 5-5 SEC; Tennessee 11-12, 4-6

STARS Arkansas junior center Moses Kingsley (17 points, 5 rebounds) and junior guard Dusty Hannahs (13 points)

TURNING POINT Arkansas jumped out to a 12-2 lead.

KEY STAT The Razorbacks shot 52.6 percent from the field compared to 35.4 percent for the Vols.

UP NEXT Arkansas plays Mississippi State at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Starkville, Miss.

— Bob Holt

The Razorbacks (12-11, 5-5 SEC) enjoyed their most-lopsided victory over Tennessee since beating the Vols 69-52 in 1999.

"We played well, and we did it from start to finish," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "Our defense was good, our offense was pretty good, and our bench played really, really well. That's what you want to see."

Razorbacks junior guard Dusty Hannahs hit a three-point basket 29 seconds into the game to start the scoring and hit another three-point as Arkansas started 4 of 5 from the field and jumped to a 12-2 lead.

Tennessee (11-12, 4-6 SEC) never got closer than seven points the rest of the game and trailed by as many as 24 points.

"I thought the start was big, and our guys stayed in the moment," Anderson said. "They didn't get ahead of themselves.

"We've had games where we've had a lead, and then I felt like we just started playing to play. Tonight we kept playing to win."

The Razorbacks shot 52.6 percent from the field (30 of 57) and held the Vols to 35.4 percent (23 of 65).

"I think all the credit goes to Arkansas," Tennessee Coach Rick Barnes said. "We were fighting uphill the whole way.

"They outplayed us every way you can outplay us."

Arkansas 6-10 junior center Moses Kingsley dominated inside against the smaller Vols.

Playing off the bench for the first time this season after getting his second technical in the Razorbacks' 87-83 loss at Florida on Wednesday night, Kingsley hit 8 of 11 shots and scored 17 points in 23 minutes.

"They"ve got somebody they can throw it in to," Barnes said. "We don't have a post game."

Hannahs scored 13 points, senior guard Anthlon Bell and sophomore guard Anton Beard scored 12 points each, and freshman guard Jimmy Whitt added 10.

"I think Mike does a terrific job with his team," Barnes said. "I love what they do in terms of their movement. They do have an inside-outside game."

The Razorbacks outscored the Vols 34-16 on points in the paint.

"They pretty much got whatever they wanted whenever they wanted it," Barnes said.

The Razorbacks credited their defense for creating easy scoring opportunities on offense.

"When we get after it on defense and get stops, we're able to run," said Arkansas junior guard Manny Watkins, who had 9 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. "Out of rebounds, it's easier when teams aren't scoring, and then we went inside.

"We had a height advantage, and we used it."

Tennessee senior guard Kevin Punter scored a game-high 24 points, but 20 came in the second half after the Razorbacks had taken control of the game. He shot 7 of 18 from the field after starting 0 of 7.

"We did a good job on Punter in the first half, and I thought that was a big difference in the game," Anderson said.

Vols freshman guard Shembari Phillips scored 12 points, and senior guard Armani Moore added 11.

Arkansas led by as many as 24 points in the second half and beat Tennessee for the third consecutive time to close the Vols' lead in the all-time series to 19-17.

Tennessee has lost its past four games at Arkansas. The Vols last won at Walton Arena in 2009.

"They shot 52 percent, but we didn't defend," Barnes said. "We defended ourselves yesterday better in practice than we did with the effort tonight -- being in the stance, being locked in.

"We had too many breakdowns. We just weren't tough enough. We weren't good enough to win."

Arkansas had a 44-21 edge in bench points, led by Kingsley, Beard and Whitt.

Anderson said the reserves played so well that at times it was tough to put the starters back in the game.

"We had guys coming off the bench, and they even took it to another level," Anderson said. "They lifted it up."

Whitt hit 4 of 5 shots and 2 of 2 free throws, an especially positive sign for the Razorbacks considering he combined to score four points in the previous five games.

"We saw Jimmy play more relaxed," Anderson said. "He was more in the flow."

The Vols pulled within 54-42 on Phillips' three-point basket with 11:19 left. Whitt and Hannahs hit three-pointers as the Razorbacks extended the lead to 60-45.

After the Vols made it 60-47 on two free throws by Detrick Mostella, the Razorbacks scored two baskets in a nine-second span.

Whitt hit a 15-foot jumper, then Keaton Miles stole the ball from Punter and passed to Beard for a layup and a 64-47 Arkansas lead with 8:40 left to make sure the Razorbacks stayed comfortably ahead.

"We wanted to continue to keep the pedal to the metal," Anderson said. "It was good to see our guys stay dialed in for the whole game."

Sports on 02/07/2016