FAYETTEVILLE — There were many times last season when Jaylen Barford simply took over games for a short period of time.
It looks like the 6-3, 210-pound Barford plans on doing that again this season.
Daryl Macon had 23 points and 5 assists and fellow senior guard Barford 19 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds as short-handed Arkansas downed Division II exhibition foe Central Oklahoma 78-65 Friday night before 4,052 fans at Bud Walton Arena.
Barford had 15 of his points by halftime, including 10 in a three-and-a-half minute stretch as Arkansas turned a 28-24 lead into a 43-30 one.
“He is set to have a big, big year,” Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson said earlier this month. “He gets it.”
After hitting 6 of 10 field goal attempts in the first half, Barford took just two shots and made both in the second half.
The ultra confident Barford bristled when asked if Central Oklahoma had slowed him down in the second half.
“I don’t think they slowed me down,” Barford said. “I was just trying to get my teammates involved, help everybody eat and just get everybody to score the ball or make plays for other people.
“I don’t think that nobody can honestly slow me down. I think it was just me by myself doing that.”
Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson was pleased to see how Barford and Macon combined to dish out 11 assists.
“I think people are going to try and guard them, people are going to really come at them and they have targets on them so they have to be able to distribute and we have to have some guys that can finish,” Anderson said. “This team has got to be a unselfish team.
“We had 20 assists on 26 field goals. That to me is that unselfishness. Now the part I don’t like is the 16 turnovers.”
Barford says he likes to see his teammates score.
“It’s fun actually, seeing your teammates score the ball, makes plays for other people,” Barford said. “I’ve always been able to do that and I think Daryl has always been able to do that as well. We have just learned how to play without the ball over the last year, getting the feel of each other and feeding off of each other is great and having Anton Beard do the same as well.”
He was 3 of 5 from 3-point range with all those shots coming in the first half.
“I try to make at least 400 a day, but when the season comes around I try to shoot after practice as well,” Barford said. “I had a really good pre-shoot before the game for about an hour. I think taking the time in the summer and taking the time after practice and doing it every day helps out a lot.”
Freshman Darious Hall was out with concussion-like symptoms, senior forwards Arlando Cook and Dustin Thomas were both suspended for the game and freshman guard Khalil Garland has yet to be medically cleared.
“I’m sure you saw by the number of guys we had dressed out tonight that we were short-handed and I thought it really had an affect on the game,” Anderson said. “I thought our guys kind of wore down.”
Thomas was a new addition to the suspended list.
“In terms of Dustin Thomas, he is a guy that is going to miss these (two exhibition) games here and possibly three more,” Anderson said. “His is a violation of team rules.
“…Of course Cook’s (legal) situation is still pending and we are just waiting until the law takes it course.”
Barford certainly thought the missing players could have helped.
“It affected us a lot because we would have had more energy, more rebounds, being more long and being more fast paced because we had to kind of pace ourselves because we only had eight players,” Barford said. ‘We have to keep playing the way we play and try to wear each other out I guess until they get back.”
Barford was happy to see freshman center Daniel Gafford (6-11, 234) flourish in the second half.
Gafford who had 23 points and 15 rebounds in the Red-White game a week before ended his night with 8 points and 7 rebounds against Central Oklahoma.
“I think once he got comfortable and starting playing his game that he affected us a whole lot,” Barford said. “He brought us a lot of energy, we were more long out there, got more rebounds and was altering shots. I think once he gets comfortable, he’ll be alright.”
Arkansas led 22-10 in the first half before Central Oklahoma cut that to 28-26.
The Razorbacks led 45-35 at halftime, scored the first seven points of the second half and took a 17-point lead only to see it get cut to 72-66 with 1:25 left.
“I think we play a little sluggish at first,” Barford said. “I think some of the new guys were probably nervous, but I think once the second half started we got the energy going like we wanted to at a fast pace and had them turning the ball over a lot.
“I think we just have to correct things and go back to the drawing board.”
Arkansas will host Missouri Western next Friday in its final exhibition game before opening the regular season with Samford Friday night, Nov. 10.