FAYETTEVILLE -- The University of Arkansas basketball team remained perfect against North Texas.
The Razorbacks beat the Mean Green 66-43 on Tuesday night in Walton Arena before an announced crowd of 12,001 to improve to 15-0 against North Texas in a series that started during the 1932-33 season.
Junior guard Mason Jones had 16 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists for the Razorbacks (2-0), and sophomore guard Isaiah Joe had 16 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals.
"They've got an explosive offensive group in those two guards," North Texas Coach Grant McCasland said. "We had a hard time guarding Mason up top, and he did a good job. That was probably where it started to break down for us."
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Jones hit 3 of 8 shots and just 1 of 5 three-pointers, but he continually drew fouls and hit 9 of 9 free throws.
Joe hit 5 of 9 shots -- including 4 of 6 three-pointers -- and 2 of 2 free throws.
"He just made some really timely shots," McCasland said. "He's one of those guys who just makes you pay every time you lose him. It's remarkable how well he can make contested, long shots."
Jones and Joe, both 6-5, also were the Razorbacks' leading scorers in last week's season-opening 91-43 victory over Rice. Jones scored a career-high 32 points and Joe scored 24.
"Those guys have great chemistry on the floor," first-year Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said. "I know that there was a lot of talk that one guy would have a good game last year and then the other wouldn't. Since I've been here, their chemistry has been incredible. Those two guys like playing with each other.
"Just really proud that Mason has accepted playing the four-spot. I think it's helping him, and it's helping our team, too. He's got a lot of mismatches at that four-spot."
There was a five-point swing in Arkansas' favor in a seven-second span in the second half when North Texas was within striking distance.
Umoja Gibson missed two free throws that could have pulled North Texas within seven points, and Joe drove up the court and hit a three-pointer to push Arkansas' lead to 45-33 with 8:43 left.
Arkansas senior forward Adrio Bailey then dunked for a rebound basket to make it 47-33 at the 7:45 mark, but he was called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim.
"It was kind of in the heat of the moment," Bailey said. "I apologized to my team for that. We don't want those little cheap fouls, even though it wasn't like a foul foul."
Musselman wasn't complaining considering Bailey had 8 points, 5 rebounds and a career-high 4 steals.
"His dunk obviously brought the crowd to its feet," Musselman said. "That dunk kind of elevated all of our energy."
Javion Hamlet hit the technical free throw, but the Mean Green (1-2) then turned the ball over.
Razorbacks sophomore guard Desi Sills hit 1 of 2 free throws, then after a North Texas miss, he drove hard to the basket for a layup, was fouled by Gibson and completed the three-point play to give Arkansas a 51-34 lead with 6:41 left.
After a dunk by Deng Geu made it 51-36, the Razorbacks scored two baskets in a five-second span. Senior guard Jimmy Whitt drove for a layup, then Sills made a steal and hit a layup to give Arkansas a 55-36 lead with 5:55 left.
Two free throws by Jones put the Razorbacks ahead 57-36 at the 5:06 mark to complete a 15-3 run over a 3:37 span.
"I just thought we did good job of not panicking," Musselman said of North Texas slowing the pace before the Razorbacks' created some distance. "I thought our defense created a lot of offense for us, too."
Whitt had 13 points, 3 steals and 2 assists. Sills added 9 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist.
Geu scored 10 points to lead the Mean Green, which shot 33.3% from the field (17 of 51) and hit 2 of 17 three-pointers.
The Razorbacks shot 44.4% from the field (20 of 45) and hit 6 of 22 three-pointers, but were 20 of 24 on free throws.
"There's a fine line with winning, and free throws, as small as they might seem, are a big part of the game," said Whitt, who hit 3 of 4. "When you can knock down free throws and get those easy points, that translates to the end of the game.
"I think everyone has gotten in the gym and put in the time with free throws. Sometimes it's overlooked because hey, it's a wide-open shot, it's whatever. But that's going to translate for us when it comes down to those nitty-gritty, close games."
North Texas beat Oklahoma Christian 79-40 to open the season and lost at No. 25 VCU 59-56.
"They played phenomenal against VCU," Musselman said. "I mean, that's a hard place to play at. So we knew coming in that this was a quality opponent."
Bailey didn't want to compare scores in beating a team that nearly upset VCU on the road.
"My personal feeling -- no offense to anybody -- but we're not VCU," Bailey said. "We're Arkansas. Every game for us, we take it like it's a championship game. We're playing hard."
Game sketch
RECORDS Arkansas 2-0, North Texas 1-2
STARS Arkansas junior guard Mason Jones (16 points, 6 rebounds), sophomore guard Isaiah Joe (16 points) and senior guard Jimmy Whitt (13 points)
KEY STAT The Razorbacks hit 20 of 24 free throws.
UP NEXT Arkansas plays Montana at 4 p.m. Saturday at Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Sports on 11/13/2019