FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas survived horrid three-point shooting to beat Central Missouri 87-60 Friday night in the Razorbacks' exhibition opener before an announced crowd of 3,451 in Walton Arena.
The Razorbacks hit 1 of 18 three-point attempts.
"I'm glad it was an exhibition that we did that in," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "But we're a much better shooting team than that."
Daryl Macon, a junior guard from Little Rock, hit the Razorbacks' only three-point basket with 12:26 left in the first half after Arkansas had missed its first two attempts.
The Razorbacks missed on their final 15 attempts after Macon's three-pointer.
"I knew during the game we weren't hitting many jumpers, but that's a pretty bad stat," Arkansas senior guard Dusty Hannahs said. "Hopefully, we don't ever repeat that.
"But it's encouraging to know we still had the paint game to rely on and were able to share the ball and get easy shots."
The Razorbacks hit 29 of 44 shots inside the three-point arc, outscored the Mules 50-16 on points in the paint and hit 26 of 36 free throws.
"The encouraging thing is we didn't just rely on the three-point shot," Anderson said. "I thought last year if you looked at our team, we've got to make those shots.
"To go 1 for 18 from three-point land and miss 10 free throws and still almost score 90 points, that's got to be a credit to our defense."
Arkansas outscored Central Missouri 21-5 points off turnovers and held the Mules to 38.0 percent shooting [19 of 50], including 5 of 15 in the second half.
The Razorbacks led 41-31 at halftime after trailing 22-21.
Anderson, who improved to 29-0 in exhibition games, credited Central Missouri with outplaying Arkansas for much of the first half.
"It just seemed like things were out of sync, and that's why you have these games," Anderson said. "But the second half it looked more like one of our teams.
"The pace picked up. It was fast, and I thought Central Missouri got caught up in it. Our pressure defense wasn't about stealing the basketball. It was disrupting.
"They didn't have much time to run their offense in the second half because our defense was really, really stifling."
Hannahs led Arkansas with 17 points. Senior guard Manny Watkins had 10 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists off the bench and junior guard Jaylen Barford had 10 points and 8 rebounds.
Central Missouri focused its defense inside around Arkansas senior center Moses Kingsley, who had 8 points, 4 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
Anderson said Kingsley did not force shots -- he was 2 of 5 -- and controlled the game on defense.
"You saw his impact," Anderson said. "He was erasing a lot of stuff back there. Kudos to him."
Arkansas junior forward Arlando Cook, who was arrested for public intoxication four weeks ago, didn't play in the first half for disciplinary reasons. He played 12 minutes in the second half and had 8 points, 2 rebounds and 1 blocked shot.
"I thought for a guy that was suspended the first half, the second half he gave me everything he had," Anderson said. "He was a difference-maker out there on the floor. So it was good to see him respond the right way."
Central Missouri guard Spencer Reaves, a junior from Newark, scored 10 points. Dushaun Rice, a junior guard from Fort Smith, had 4 points and 4 rebounds.
"It was great to go against a really good team in Arkansas," said Mules Coach Doug Karleskint, a former Arkansas Tech coach. "I think we're going to win a lot of games.
"We won't face that kind of pressure the rest of the year. They've got a lot of athleticism and length."
Macon finished 1 of 5 on three-pointers. Anton Beard was 0 of 4, C.J. Jones 0 of 3, Hannahs and Barford were each of 0 of 2 and Brachen Hazen 0 of 1.
"We had some wide-open looks and we had the right guys taking the shots, so you can't fault them for that," Anderson said. "Guys that normally knock shots down just didn't. But we'll get back in the gym and keep shooting them."
Game sketch
STARS Arkansas senior guards Dusty Hannahs (17 points) and Manny Watkins (10 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists) junior guard Jaylen Barford (10 points, 8 rebounds).
TURNING POINT The Razorbacks outscored the Mules 18-4 over a 5:57 span to take a 73-44 lead with 8:28 left.
KEY STAT Arkansas had 50-16 advantage on points in the paint.
UP NEXT Arkansas plays Emporia (Kan.) State at 7 p.m. Friday in Walton Arena.
Sports on 10/29/2016