FAYETTEVILLE — No. 10 Arkansas completed its sweep of in-state competition this week with a 93-78 victory over Arkansas-Little Rock on Saturday.
The Razorbacks began the week with a 97-60 home win over Central Arkansas on Wednesday, then closed it by defeating the Trojans, who are coached by former Arkansas standout Darrell Walker, thanks to four players scoring in double figures. Arkansas wing Au’Diese Toney led the way with 18 points and 8 rebounds.
Toney keyed the Razorbacks’ 49-34 halftime lead with 16 points on 5 of 6 shooting and 7 rebounds. It was his sixth consecutive game in double figures.
Sophomore guard Davonte Davis turned in another strong offensive outing, finishing with 16 points and a career-best 7 assists — all in the first half. Despite battling foul trouble in the second half, Davis scored 10 points and made 5 of 6 field goal attempts.
He was 8 of 11 shooting in the win, including 8 of 9 inside the arc.
Also in double figures for the Razorbacks were guards JD Notae and Chris Lykes. Notae added 18 points, including 16 in the second half, and 2 steals, giving him multiple steals in each game this season.
Lykes pitched in 14 points, and Stanley Umude had 9 as Arkansas improved to 8-0 on the season and 6-0 in Bud Walton Arena.
Jaylin Williams contributed 9 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in his 29 minutes. The Razorbacks outscored UALR by 11 points when he was on the floor.
The Trojans trailed by as many as 17 points early in the second half after a pair of free throws by Umude, but they hung tough.
Back-to-back three-pointers by UALR leading scorer Marko Lukic cut the Arkansas lead to 57-52 with 15:03 remaining. The Trojans trimmed the Razorbacks’ advantage to six points on two other occasions, but Arkansas rode a big second half by Notae to cruise to the win.
Lukic led all scorers with 23 points on 8 of 16 shooting and 3 of 7 from three-point range. Isaiah Palermo aided him with 17 points on 5 of 9 from the floor and game-high 10 rebounds.
Palermo finished 7 of 9 at the free throw line and added 6 assists, tying a team high.
Arkansas returns to play Tuesday when it hosts Charlotte in Bud Walton Arena. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. on SEC Network.
2:33, 2H - Arkansas 85, UALR 73
JD Notae has scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half and has been the jolt of energy Arkansas needed to get to the finish line today. He has also come up with 2 steals that immediately led to buckets.
Au'Diese Toney has 18 points for the Razorbacks, just 2 since halftime.
Marko Lukic has 23 points and Isaiah Palermo has 17. They have been a nice 1-2 punch for the Trojans.
7:54, 2H - Arkansas 73, UALR 64
Marko Lukic and Isaiah Palermo have combined to score 18 second-half points for the Trojans, and they remain within striking distance as we hit the under-8 media timeout. Lukic has 21 points for the game, and Palermo has 15.
Davonte Davis and JD Notae have 15 between them in the second half, but 4 fouls has cut into Davis' time on the floor.
UALR is 9 of 14 shooting since halftime and 5 of 7 from deep. Arkansas is 9 of 19 in the second half and just kind of going through the motions yet again.
The Trojans will be at the line when play resumes.
10:36, 2H - Arkansas 68, UALR 58
Davonte Davis' big day continued with a nice jumper along the right baseline assisted by Jaxson Robinson. It moved him to 14 points on 7 of 10 from the floor.
Davis also has 4 rebounds and 7 assists, but he just picked up his fourth foul after a long review by the game's officials.
JD Notae added Arkansas' most recent score. He grabbed the loose ball after a Stanley Umude miss around the rim and got a runner in the lane to fall.
He has 6 points on 6 shots today. Been pretty quiet.
Marko Lukic has a game-high 21 points for the Trojans, who are 7 of 11 from the floor in the second half.
12:55, 2H - Arkansas 64, UALR 57
UALR came into today shooting 23% from three-point range. That ranked 354th nationally, according to KenPom. The Trojans are 6/17 today and hanging tough with the Razorbacks. They feel like they belong.
Chris Lykes hit a three moments ago and drew a foul, but missed the free throw. Davonte Davis has 6 points since halftime, and Jaylin Williams now has 3 assists in this half.
UALR is 7 of 8 from the floor in the second half and 5 of 6 from deep. That will keep you in a lot of ball games.
15:59, 2H - Arkansas 58, UALR 46
Pretty good stretch of basketball there from the Trojans to keep hanging around after Arkansas grabbed a 17-point lead just over 2 minutes into the half.
The Razorbacks, kind of like the beginning of the game, have scores from 4 players in the opening minutes of this half. JD Notae has been really quiet today, but he added a nice layup after shot faking his defender in the left corner.
Au'Diese Toney is up to a team-high 18 points, and Jaylin Williams has 2 assists since halftime.
Half - Arkansas 49, UALR 34
Au'Diese Toney led the way in a big offensive half for the Razorbacks with 16 points. He also grabbed 7 rebounds, which are a team high.
Davonte Davis was great controlling the tempo of the game. He scored 6 points on 3 of 5 shooting and added a career-high 7 assists.
Davis found Jaylin Williams at least three times for buckets prior to halftime. Their connection is as strong as ever, it seems.
Williams added 7 points and 4 rebounds in 11 minutes, and Chris Lykes pitched in 7 points off the bench for Arkansas. Lykes also has 2 steals, and Williams is a plus-12 when on the floor.
Marko Lukic has a team-high 10 points for UALR at halftime and Isaiah Palermo has 8.
The Razorbacks assisted on 14 of 19 buckets, and Toney and JD Notae each have 2 assist, too
1:20, 1H - Arkansas 45, UALR 32
Davonte Davis is up to 6 points and 7 assists today, and the Razorbacks are beginning to widen the gap late in the half.
Jaxson Robinson also just knocked down a jumper from the left short corner after a nice shot fake in the corner. He has 5 points today.
The Trojans call for time to try to slow a 9-2 Arkansas run.
3:48, 1H - Arkansas 36, UALR 30
It is a good thing Au'Diese Toney and Davonte Davis decided to play well today. Otherwise, the Razorbacks might be in some trouble.
Davis already has 6 points and 5 assists today, and Toney is up to 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. They are 8 of 11 from the floor while the rest of the team is 7 of 15.
That isn't a bad mark for the remainder of the roster. It is more of a show of Davis and Toney's activity. They have been terrific.
Isaiah Palermo and Marko Lukic each have 8 points for UALR.
Toney will be at the line when play resumes.
7:53, 1H - Arkansas 28, UALR 24
Have to give credit to the Trojans. They are playing hard and getting some shots to fall as we pass the midway point in the first half.
Arkansas, though, is again floating through this game, knowing it is talented enough to win without playing well. The Razorbacks are not doing the little things needed to blow a game like this against an opponent like this wide open.
Au'Diese Toney is having a nice day so far with 11 points. Outside of him it has been a bit of an offensive struggle. Here is a sequence from Toney a few moments ago:
Hit a left-corner three-pointer, blocked a shot on UALR’s next possession, tallied an assist to Trey Wade seconds later, then added a layup, grabbed an offensive rebound on a missed free throw then made another layup.
Chris Lykes is currently second on the team with 4 points.
Eric Musselman called for time after a JD Notae turnover turned into a dunk for UALR on the other end.
11:45, 1H - Arkansas 17, UALR 14
The Razorbacks pushed their early lead to seven, but four straight points from the Trojans chipped into it prior to the under-12 timeout.
Jaylin Williams added a dunk, Davonte Davis assisted on an Au'Diese Toney layup, and Jaxson Robinson hit a three.
Chris Lykes stole the ball from a UALR ball handler near micourt just before the break and was fouled on a layup attempt. He will be at the line when play resumes.
Arkansas' continued pressure and success coming up with turnovers high on the perimeter has been terrific so far this season.
15:44, 1H - Arkansas 10, UALR 7
The Razorbacks have began the day 4 of 5 from the floor and 5 different players have scored. Davonte Davis has a bucket following an assist by Au'Diese Toney as well as two assists of his own.
Stanley Umude entered the game for Jaylin Williams less than two minutes in and knocked down his first shot, a midrange jumper from the left short corner.
UALR is 3 of 8 from the floor and 1 of 3 from deep.
The Trojans will be at the line when play resumes. Williams was hit with a foul prior to the under-16 break.
Notae has struggled from distance lately, hitting 2 of 18 catch-and-shoot threes in the last five games and 4 of 17 off-the-dribble threes since the season opener. He is 1 of 11 this season on off-the-dribble threes from the left wing.
His best catch-and-shoot location is the right wing, where he is 5 of 11.
Williams is averaging 5.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, which leads the team. He has grabbed at least eight defensive rebounds in each of the last three games and ranks in the top 40 nationally, according to KenPom, in defensive rebound percentage (27.5%). His assist rate sits at 22.1%.
Davis scored a season-high 16 points against Central Arkansas on Wednesday. That was his most points in a game since the victory over Oral Roberts in the NCAA Tournament in March.
Davis also has 11 assists over Arkansas’ last three games.
UALR is playing its sixth consecutive game away from home and coming off an 86-55 loss at Colorado State on Wednesday. The Trojans have had seven players miss a combined 39 games because of injuries.
They will be without their No. 1 and No. 3 leading scorers — Nikola Maric (hamstring) and DeAntoni Gordon (leg) — for the game.
Only five teams in college basketball have shot the three worse than UALR this season. The Trojans rank 353rd nationally at 23.0%. Stulic leads the team with 10 made threes on 24 attempts.
Defensively, UALR has allowed opponents to shoot 37.4% from deep and 56.5% inside the arc. That's not a ideal combination.