FAYETTEVILLE — Adrio Bailey has been a hidden gem on the Arkansas bench the first three weeks of the season.
Coach Mike Anderson unleashed him on Saturday and the freshman shined with 7 of 8 shooting for a team-high 14 points and 7 rebounds in 18 minutes during Arkansas’ 99-62 rout of Austin Peay at Walton Arena.
Bailey, a 6-6 forward from Campti, La., entered the game with two career points — a backdoor dunk against Stephen F. Austin on Thursday — on 1 of 3 shooting in 31 minutes.
He surpassed that with a putback and a dunk in the first half against the Governors as part of a 21-3 Arkansas run in the first half.
“You come in and work every day in practice and sooner or later it’s going to happen,” Bailey said.
“I’ve been saying all along I needed to get him in there,” Anderson said. “He’s a highlight waiting to happen.”
Bailey made his first seven shots, mostly in clean-up work and post moves in the paint, and some of it was set up by center Moses Kingsley, who had a career-high five assists.
“I thought his passing was tremendous,” Bailey said of Kingsley. “He looks for me just like a guard looks for him. So my job when he’s in the game is to cut because he looks for people and he’s an excellent passing big man.”
Agony and Ecstasy
Arkansas pulled off the game’s most exciting play while one of its top players was writhing on the floor in pain.
Daryl Macon descended from a dunk and landed on the ball, twisting his right leg in the process. Macon took a couple of steps before falling to the court. 0.Meanwhile, Austin Peay guard Josh Robinson committed a quick turnover, which the Hogs cashed immediately. Dustin Thomas fed Moses Kingsley a lob for a one-handed dunk and a 58-37 lead.
Trainer Dave England quickly tended to Macon, who seemed to be moving around OK. Macon wore an ice wrap around his right shin and did not return in the game.
“I think they’re going to give me a report here in a little bit,” Coach Mike Anderson said of Macon’s injury.
Clamped
Arkansas limited Austin Peay guard Josh Robinson, one of the nation’s top scorers, to 3 of 14 shooting and 9 points. Robinson entered the game averaging 23.3 points per game and shooting 50 percent. A 41 percent shooter from three-point range, Robinson went 0 of 5 from that distance against the Hogs.
“They’re going to be up in you and nothing’s easy,” Austin Peay Coach Dave Loos said. “I’m sure that had a lot to do with it, but it was the least of Josh’s games this year.”
Takeover
Trailing 15-14 at the 14:04 mark of the first half, Arkansas seized control with a 21-3 surge that ended at the 6:02 mark with the Hogs ahead 35-18 on the second of back-to-back three-pointers by C.J. Jones.
Adrio Bailey and Arlando Cook contributed four points each, and Dusty Hannahs followed that with a three-pointer and layup .
Arkansas outscored Austin Peay 32-4 at the outset of the second half to go from a 13-point lead to doubling the Governors at 82-41 with 8:38 left.
Moses launches
Arkansas center Moses Kingsley made his first three-pointer since his freshman season on his first attempt of his senior season.
“I’m sure he’s been wanting to do that for a long time,” Coach Mike Anderson said.
Kingsley is 2 of 4 on three-point shooting in his career.
Deep dialogue
Dusty Hannahs broke an 0 for 9 shooting skid from three-point range when he hit from deep on the left wing with 7:58 remaining in the first half for a 27-17 lead. The shot extended Arkansas’ streak of made three pointers to 913 consecutive games.
Hannahs’ string of missed three pointers dated back three games to Arkansas’ 85-71 loss at Minnesota.
Even dozen
All 12 scholarship players scored for Arkansas, the last coming when freshman Brachen Hazen tipped in a missed layup by Jaylen Barford to give the Hogs a 94-57 lead with 2:40 remaining. It was Hazen’s first field goal of the season.
When freshman CJ Jones followed with a three-pointer and a layup in transition to make it 99-59, Arkansas had two minutes to hit the 100-point mark. But Adrio Bailey missed a jumper, then walk-on guard Jonathan Holmes missed two three-point tries in the final 24 seconds.
Fill it up
Public address announcer Johnny George said fans in the upper level could come down into the lower bowl as long as they didn’t take the seats of season-ticket patrons.
The Razorbacks drew their largest home crowd of the season, with an estimated attendance of 10,059 at Bud Walton Arena.
Change-up
Coach Mike Anderson shuffled his lineup for the third time this season. Anderson reinserted guards Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon into the starting group with Moses Kingsley, Dustin Thomas and Manny Watkins and sat Dusty Hannahs and Anton Beard. Kingsley and Thomas have started all seven games, while Hannahs has started six. Barford and Macon have started five each while Watkins has started the last three.
Beard was the sixth man, checking in at the 15:32 mark, while Hannahs came in at 15:11.
Facing the SEC
Austin Peay faced an SEC team on the road for the third year in a row and the fourth time in five seasons. The Governors’ last victory over an SEC team came at Tennessee on Dec. 10, 2011.
Tip-ins
The Razorbacks blocked a season-high 11 shots after blocking one in each of the past two games.
Arkansas improved to 3-0 vs. Austin Peay.
The Razorbacks are 52-1 at Walton Arena against unranked nonconference opponents under Mike Anderson.