The message was pretty clear. There was no ambiguity, no reason for his players to be confused. This game, Arkansas coach John Pelphrey told his team, wasn’t going to be won by outrebounding the opposition, creating second-chance opportunities or producing baskets in transition.

“ The way we were going to impose our will was by not letting them score, ” Pelphrey said.

Early in the second half of their 85-60 victory over Louisiana-Monroe at Walton Arena, the Razorbacks did just that — handcuffing the War Hawks ’ offense by clogging the passing lanes and stalking their guards.

In front of 13, 714 spectators, Arkansas (10-3 ) outscored Louisiana-Monroe 24-6 in the first 10: 44 of the second half, as the Razorbacks turned up the pressure and fed the ball to their post players. Forward Charles Thomas scored 10 of his 12 points during the run, while center Darian Townes produced a dunk on one possession and a pair of free throws on another.

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All of a sudden, a tenuous eightpoint lead Arkansas had cobbled together before halftime ballooned to 26 points with 9: 16 left in regulation.

“ They can lock down and guard you in the halfcourt, ” Louisiana-Monroe coach Orlando Early said. “ And they showed they can do it tonight. ”

But it took a while before Arkansas began flexing its muscle. Louisiana-Monroe (6-7 ), a team that leans heavily on its perimeter offense, made 4 of 9 three-pointers in the first half and gave Arkansas fits. Jonas Brown, who scored a team-high 21 points, was a thorn in Arkansas’ side. His pair of free throws with 7: 50 left in the first half reduced the Razorbacks’ lead to one point, 31-30.

And for the next three minutes, the War Hawks were a resilient bunch — fighting back when Arkansas tried to pull away.

“ During the course of the game, they were with us, ” said Townes, who along with guards Sonny Weems and Patrick Beverley, scored 17 points. “ We saw it in their eyes that with their depth that they started to wear down. They were making some careless passes and a lot of turnovers in the second half. ”

Louisiana-Monroe was shorthanded going into the game against Arkansas. Senior guard Lance Brasher, one of the War Hawks’ starters, never played Saturday after suffering a back injury. Sophomore guard Brandon Roberts, meanwhile, remained on the bench after hurting his knee earlier this year.

Sticking to a seven-man rotation, Early hoped his team’s stamina wouldn’t wane over the course of the game. But it did.

“ Tony Hooper playing 33 minutes, Jonas Brown playing 31 minutes, Jordan Payne 36 minutes — they just couldn’t play at a level they had to play at to beat an Arkansas at Arkansas for that long period of time, ” Early said.

The attrition began to show in the early second half when Arkansas wrested control of the game. During the Razorbacks’ game-defining run, the War Hawks committed nine turnovers.

As a result, their offense grinded to a halt — spitting and sputtering like a broken-down engine. After making four three-pointers in the first half, Louisiana-Monroe made only 2 of the 11 shots it attempted from behind the arc and connected on only 30 percent of its field goal attempts in the final 20 minutes of regulation.

The War Hawks were sapped and Thomas could sense as much.

“ They were winded and bending over, ” Thomas said. “ And we had fresh legs coming off the bench. ”

The reserves — all seven of them — allowed Arkansas to sustain its defensive intensity. And seven days after watching Appalachian State make 66 percent of its shots in a stunning 74-67 upset over the Razorbacks, Pelphrey was glad to take a peek at the stat sheet Saturday after the game. But he wasn’t quite ready to heap praise on his team.

“ The defense was better, ” Pelphrey said. “ Today was one of those days where I felt like they didn’t need a pat on the back. They needed a kick on the rear end. ”

Verbally, Arkansas got one and the Razorbacks responded.