FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas Razorbacks made the University of California-Davis play catch-up from the start on Monday night in Walton Arena.
The Aggies never could.
The University of Arkansas pulled away to beat UC-Davis 81-58 before an announced crowd of 6,373 after scoring the game's first 11 points.
Arkansas (1-1) won its 45th consecutive home opener after losing to Texas 73-71 on Friday night at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.
"We were still mad from the Texas game, to be honest with you," said sophomore guard Mason Jones, who led the Razorbacks with 21 points. "We wanted to come out and make a statement right off the bat, just knowing that we lost a tough one.
"So we were just so eager to get back out there and get a win for the Arkansas fan base."
Arkansas junior forward Adrio Bailey scored a career-high 20 points. He hit his first career three-point basket and 9 of 11 free throws. His previous career scoring high was 15 points against Samford last season.
Freshman guard Isaiah Joe scored 14 points for the Razorbacks. Forward Daniel Gafford, Arkansas' preseason All-SEC sophomore, had 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
"We saw tonight we got two 20-point scorers and it wasn't Daniel," Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson said. "How about that?"
Arkansas closed the game on an 18-4 run during the final 4:55 after the Aggies (0-3) pulled within 63-54 on Siler Schneider's three-pointer.
"When they got tired as the second half was ending, that's when we gassed up," Bailey said. "We know if we've got them down, we're going to keep our foot on their neck."
The Aggies, who trailed 37-30 at halftime, shot 25 percent from the field in the second half (7 of 28) and were 3 of 17 on three-pointers.
"We made fatigue a factor in the second half," Anderson said. "It's all about wear and tear."
Arkansas sophomore point guard Jalen Harris shot 1 of 6 from the field, but Anderson praised his floor game and defense on UC-Davis senior guard T.J. Shorts. Shorts led the Aggies with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, but he also had a game-high 7 turnovers.
Harris had four assists without committing a turnover in 28 minutes.
"That's the beauty of our team," Anderson said. "[Harris] knows he's got some guys capable of shooting and scoring the basketball, and there are going to be nights when he's going to score and it's going to flow.
"But tonight I thought he took the assignment of taking the Shorts guy and make him really work guarding him. That kid ended up having seven turnovers.
"How can you impact the game? Tonight I thought [Harris] was the floor general. He was the captain of the defense."
Jones led the Razorbacks with eight rebounds, and Joe had five.
"When your guards start rebounding, it makes a big, big difference," Anderson said. "So we've got to continue to encourage our guys."
Jones hit 6 of 10 shots, including 4 of 7 three-pointers, and had 2 turnovers in 31 minutes.
"I thought he played a good overall game," Anderson said. "He cut down on the [four] turnovers that he had the other night [against Texas]."
Arkansas finished 27 of 41 on free throws after starting 3 of 10. Gafford hit 6 of 9 after being 4 of 9 against Texas.
"We make some free throws and now you have a pretty decent cushion there," Anderson said of the Razorbacks hitting 21 of 27 in the second half. "It's amazing how you can go from one half to the next half."
UC-Davis had 24 turnovers, helping the Razorbacks to a 26-8 edge in points off of turnovers.
Arkansas held the Aggies to 32.1 percent shooting for the game (18 of 56) after Texas shot 31.3 percent (21 of 67).
"That's pretty darn good defense," Anderson said. "So as long as we can stay consistent defensively -- because we know offense comes and goes -- we have a chance to win."
Sports on 11/13/2018