ANDY SHUPE Northwest Arkansas Times Arkansas junior wing Michael Washington, center, reaches to score past California-Davis sophomore guard Joe Harden defends during play Thursday in Bud Walton Arena.

John Pelphrey wasn’t shy when talking about Arkansas’ struggles beyond the arc Thursday night.

After a 68-59 win over California-Davis, he believed his young Razorbacks would have 15 nights of struggles with their perimeter offense this season.

Arkansas couldn’t hit a shot from outside, connecting on just 1 of 13 three-pointers in its win. But a fast-paced first half led to plenty of opportunities inside the paint for big men like Michael Sanchez and Michael Washington.

“ That’s called basketball. That’s just the way it is, ” Pelphrey said. “ So what happens ? Well, are you going to be able to defend and rebound well enough to keep yourself in the game ?”

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Sanchez answered resoundingly, posting his first career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. It was also his second consecutive game with a dozen rebounds.

The redshirt freshman’s energy and aggressiveness carried over to his teammates. He dove for loose balls, set up pick and rolls and, most importantly, got the offense going inside when Arkansas’ No. 1 shooter, true freshman Rotnei Clarke, was unable to find his long-range shot.

“ I thought Mike — with his passion, his heart and his toughness — just really gave us a huge lift in the first half, ” Pelphrey said. “... I really like the reckless abandon, without fouling. It was good. If he can continue that, those are some things that we really, really like in Mike. He impacted the game tonight. ”

Sanchez had back-toback dunks during a 9-2 run that roused his teammates and fueled a second run that gave Arkansas a lead as large as 33-16 with 4: 45 remaining in the first half.

“ After he got the second dunk, I could just see in his eyes that he was filled with confidence, ” said guard Stefan Welsh, who accounted for both assists on the dunks.

Save for the ease of his two dunks, Sanchez scored by moving his feet, using the backboard and finding openings in the Aggies’ defense.

“ We definitely had to get the ball inside at one point, ” Sanchez said. “... I think we got that accomplished. We kind of slowed down and once we get patient with it, we seem to do fine [inside ]. ”

Pelphrey called Sanchez’s night “ hard-nosed and nasty. ”

“ I thought he did a really good job of control on his drives, ” the UA coach said. “ He wasn’t barreling over top of a guy. It was hard-nosed and physical, and he made those guys make a decision whether they were going to foul him. ”

Clarke drew the attention of the UC-Davis defense throughout the night. Backcourt mate Courtney Fortson was able to find some lanes and led Arkansas with 16 points.

But the defensive attention, it seemed, was almost solely focused on Clarke.

“ They give Rotnei so much attention and, yeah, it probably eliminates the 3-point shot. But it creates a lot of driving lanes, a lot of space for some post-up opportunities, ” Pelphrey said. “ We just got to get better at the counter-punch. ”

For Sanchez, he was good enough in just his second game as a Razorback. The little things he did, Pelphrey said, added up to bigger results for Arkansas.

He even hit two free throws that extended Arkansas’ lead to 63-54 with 3: 24 remaining and UC-Davis threatening.

“ That’s just him all day at practice, ” Fortson said. “ I wasn’t really surprised. ”