Harris, Hogs unselfish in rout of Montana State

Arkansas guard Jalen Harris passes the ball during a game against Montana State on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018, in Fayetteville.

— Arkansas freshman forward Reggie Chaney had an opportunity to put a Montana State defender on a poster early in the second half.

Charging full speed ahead but under control on a 2-on-1 fastbreak, Chaney could have opted for the one-handed, highlight-reel dunk. Instead, he drew the Bobcats defender away from the rim then found guard Mason Jones, who led Arkansas with 18 points, for an easy, uncontested layup.

The sequence may have seemed a bit insignificant in the grand scheme of a 90-68 win Wednesday night, but it was a microcosm of the Razorbacks' unselfish play throughout. As a team, Arkansas totaled 29 assists on 37 made field goals, the most in a game since finishing with 30 against Portland State in 2005, according to HogStats.com.

"I tell you what, that’s hopefully something that will continue to catch on with this basketball team," Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said. "That’s called the trust factor where I may pass up a very good shot for a great shot."

Anderson also alluded to a play late in the first half when Mason Jones, who scored 16 points before halftime on 5 of 7 from 3-point range, froze the Bobcats' defense on the perimeter and found Daniel Gafford for a dunk.

"It’s that brother-in-law situation," Anderson added. "Daniel is drawing so much attention inside it’s leaving a lot of these guys outside to score. And then of course when we’re in transition, guys are now starting to make the right decision. There are some times we’ll botch up a fastbreak, but for the most part I thought we got the ball to the right people at the right time."

Arkansas guard Jalen Harris turned in his best overall game in a Razorbacks uniform Wednesday, too, recording his first career double-double with 11 points on 4 of 7 shooting and 11 assists against just one turnover. Harris set the tone early as his first assist of the night came only five seconds in when he found Jones for the first of his five 3-pointers. Harris assisted on four of Jones' five threes.

The sophomore guard found Gafford three times for easy scores, including a pair of alley oops, and Isaiah Joe on both of his 3-point makes. In all, Harris hit five teammates for buckets and his 11 assists netted the Razorbacks 28 points.

“As much as I get double-doubles, I'm pretty sure (teammates) are proud of me just like I'm proud of Jalen getting his double-double," said Gafford, who followed his career-high 27-point game against Indiana with 16 points on 8 of 8 from the floor. "(Jalen) moved the ball, he found people and they knocked shots down, so basically he was getting rewarded for that.

"He got his double-double, so that was his reward.”

Joe struggled to find his touch for a second consecutive game, finishing 2 of 10 from 3-point range following a 3 of 11 game against the Hoosiers, but he also dished out five assists to go with a career-high five steals.

Desi Sills, who played 16 minutes off the bench, contributed five points, five more assists and a pair of steals as well.

Harris, though, was the star of the show, becoming the first Razorbacks player to finish with 10-plus points and 10-plus assists in a game since Jabril Durham had 12 points and 10 assists in a February 2016 loss to Auburn.

"He was the leader in charge out there and that’s what a good leader does," Anderson said. "I just want to see more of that. I think it's in him. He's got a lot of guys he can distribute it to and understanding that role and doing it night in and night out I think is going to be a big key.

"They had fun tonight. The guys had fun tonight."