FAYETTEVILLE — J.D. Notae recorded his first career double-double and No. 12 Arkansas rolled to a 86-66 win against North Carolina-Charlotte on Tuesday night in nonconference action.
Notae finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds as the Razorbacks (9-0) took control of the game in the first half and never let up. Arkansas sophomore Jaylin Williams scored a career-high 15 points and added eight rebounds for Arkansas.
Four players scored in double-figures for the Razorbacks.
Austin Butler led UNC-Charlotte (4-4) with 14 points and Jahmir Young finished with 10.
Notae scored 13 of his points in the second half as the Razorbacks extended a 10-point halftime lead to 20 down the stretch to end a four-game homestand.
Arkansas broke away from a 14-14 tie at the 11:52 mark of the first half with a 17-4 scoring burst.
UNC-Charlotte made a run to get within six points at 35-29 on a backdoor layup by Jackson Threadgill with 2:25 left in the half, but Arkansas went back up by 10 again when Williams forced a steal at midcourt and raced in uncontested for a slam for the 41-31 halftime lead.
Charlotte trailed by double-digits most of the second half until Butler and Luka Vasic drilled back-to-back three-pointers to pull the Niners within 73-64 with 5:50 left.
Davonte Davis added 18 points and 8 assists, topping the career-high 7 assists in last Saturday's victory over Arkansas-Little Rock. Davis knocked down 7 of 12 shots.
Chris Lykes poured in 13 points off the bench and provided an offensive spark in the first half. It is his sixth double-digit scoring game of the season.
The Razorbacks are scheduled to play Oklahoma on Saturday at BOK Center in Tulsa.
EARLIER
3:52, 2H - Arkansas 77, Charlotte 64
Since the last break in the action, Davonte Davis added a nice driving layup against Austin Butler as Arkansas worked clock on the offensive end. He has 14 points on 6 of 11 shooting.
Chris Lykes then added a layup plus the foul to give him 13 points off the bench. He will be at the line when play resumes.
It does not seem like Jaylin Williams will get his double-double. He has five rebounds to go, but there is still time.
5:46, 2H - Arkansas 73, Charlotte 64
The 49ers are not going away without a fight. They are on a 6-0 run over the last 25 seconds and have cut their deficit to single digits for the first time since the 18:31 mark in this half.
Eric Musselman called for time unhappy with Arkansas' transition three-point defense.
JD Notae has a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double. It is his first as a Razorback and fifth of his career.
Aly Khalifa is having a nice second half for Charlotte. He has nine since halftime and has helped the 49ers stay in this game. Austin Butler has a team-high 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting.
7:50, 2H - Arkansas 69, Charlotte 55
Davonte Davis hit another midrange jumper tonight, giving him 2-3 in the game and at least 4 in the last two games, which is a good sign for the Razorbacks. He was terrific on those looks last season and was a bit slow to attempt them early on this year.
JD Notae has a game-high 19 points and nine rebounds to go with four steals. He also had nine rebounds in the win over Penn on Nov. 28.
Davis has seven points and four assists since halftime.
Charlotte will be at the line when play resumes. It is shooting 47.8% for the game and 4 of 17 from deep.
11:46, 2H - Arkansas 63, Charlotte 47
JD Notae has six points on 3 of 4 shooting in the second half and is up to a game-high 17 points for the Razorbacks. He is 7 of 14 from the floor in the game and has four steals, his most since the season opener (7).
Jaylin Williams has a career-high 15 points and needs six rebounds to tally his first career double-double. Arkansas is plus-17 in his 20 minutes tonight.
Davonte Davis is in double figures with 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting and has 7 assists, matching a career high set against Arkansas-Little Rock over the weekend.
He has been on a terrific run lately of getting others involved and also taking shots that are ideal for him.
15:41, 2H - Arkansas 56, Charlotte 43
Huge positive from the last two-plus games is Davonte Davis has gotten back to taking the types of shots and making the kinds of plays that made him stand out last season. He has six assists again tonight.
Davis has five points and three assists since halftime, and Jaylin Williams has four more points and another assist. Williams has scored a career-high 14 points tonight on 7 of 9 shooting.
JD Notae is up to 13 points and seven rebounds.
Williams will be at the line when play resumes.
Half - Arkansas 41, Charlotte 31
Felt like a pretty average half of basketball from the Razorbacks, but they're up double digits at halftime. That is just kind of how this team has been through eight-plus games.
JD Notae leads Arkansas with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals, and Jaylin Williams has 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Both players have come up with steals high on the perimeter near midcourt tonight and gotten easy buckets for the Razorbacks.
That, too, has been a staple in the early stages of the season.
Chris Lykes brought some pop off the bench with nine points on 4 of 6 shooting in 16 minutes. Not a whole lot else happening offensively for Arkansas aside from Davonte Davis' five points and three assists.
Au'Diese Toney pitched in four points and seven rebounds, which lead the team.
For Charlotte, Jahmir Young and Jared Garcia each have eight points. The 49ers shot 12 of 25 in the half and 2 of 10 from deep.
Austin Butler added seven points and pretty consistently beat the Razorbacks off the bounce offensively.
Arkansas turned 11 first-half offensive rebounds into 14 points. I'm sure Eric Musselman would like that second figure to be a bit higher.
2:09, 1H - Arkansas 35, Charlotte 29
JD Notae provided the Razorbacks with some offense around the midway point in the first half and now Chris Lykes is doing that for Arkansas.
Both players have nine points in the game. Lykes is 4 of 6 from the floor and has a pair of assists. He's been solid outside of a bad turnover making an entry pass a few moments ago.
Notae will be at the line for two shots when play resumes.
6:02, 1H - Arkansas 31, Charlotte 18
The Razorbacks are on a 9-0 run over the last 2:04 and have their largest lead of the night, forcing a 49ers timeout.
Jaylin Williams and Devo Davis hit midrange jumpers, then Davis assisted to Chris Lykes for a right-corner three in transition. First time the building has popped tonight energy-wise.
7:48, 1H - Arkansas 24, Charlotte 18
That was a bit better stretch from the Razorbacks offensively, but everything right now feels like a struggle and fairly clunky.
JD Notae leads Arkansas with 9 points on 4 of 7 shooting, and he has 4 rebounds, which is second on the team to Au'Diese Toney's 6.
The Razorbacks are 10 of 27 from the floor and 1 of 4 from deep. They have assists on just two of their buckets. Charlotte is 6 of 14 shooting.
11:52, 1H - Arkansas 14, Charlotte 13
The 49ers will be at the line for one shot with a chance to tie the game when play resumes. Charlotte's Jared Garcia shot faked Stanley Umude off the floor then drew contact and made a layup prior to the break.
Arkansas is 6 of 17 from the floor and has seven offensive rebounds early on but only six points to show for them. The 49ers are 5 of 10 shooting and 1 of 4 from three-point range.
Jaylin Williams added a pair of layups moments ago, one after grabbing his own miss and the other assisted by Chris Lykes. That is the Razorbacks' lone assist so far.
Austin Butler leads Charlotte with five points.
15:24, 1H - Arkansas 8, Charlotte 7
The last time we spoke to Eric Musselman, he said at least once per game JD Notae will rip an opposing team's guard high on the perimeter and it will lead to an Arkansas score. It just happened for the first time tonight.
He picked Charlotte's Austin Butler then Chris Lykes dove on the floor and tipped the loose ball to Au'Diese Toney, who then added a layup through contact. The score gave the Razorbacks an 8-7 at the under-16 timeout.
Notae already has 2 steals, giving him at least 2 in every game this season. He also knocked down a rare off-the-dribble three from the left wing. The hit moved him to 2 of 14 on such shots this season.
Connor Vanover followed a missed shot and put it back in for his first bucket of the game.
Pregame
Arkansas' starting lineup: JD Notae, Davonte Davis, Au'Diese Toney, Jaylin Williams and Connor Vanover.
Davis is coming off his best game of the season against Arkansas-Little Rock. He scored 16 points (8 of 9 inside the arc) and had a career-high seven assists. Davis is averaging five assists per game in the last three outings.
Toney is putting up 17 points per game in December and has made 12 of 14 shots inside the arc. He knocked down his lone three-pointer, as well. Toney has scored in double figures in six consecutive games.
Williams enters tonight as Arkansas’ assists leader (34) and its best defensive rebounder, grabbing 27.4% of available misses when on the floor, per KenPom. He has at least six defensive rebounds in each of the last five games.
The Razorbacks have allowed an offensive rebound on only 19.4% of opponents’ misses this season. That marks ranks fifth nationally and No. 1 among major-conference teams.
With a win, Arkansas would improve to 9-0 for the second straight season under Eric Musselman.
Charlotte's starters: Jahmir Young (6-1), Clyde Trapp (6-4), Austin Butler (6-5), Robert Braswell (6-7) and Aly Khalifa (6-11).
Young is the 49ers' star player and has the potential to be a handful for the Razorbacks. He has scored 20-plus points five times in seven games this season, including a season-high 26 points last weekend against George Washington.
He has four assists in each of the last three games and had nine to go with 25 points in the team’s win over USC Upstate on Nov. 12.
Trapp added a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double against George Washington and scored a career-high 24 points in a Nov. 22 loss to Toledo. He, too, has a pair of 20-plus point games this season and is the 49ers’ best defensive rebounder.
Young, who has taken 29.2% of the team’s shots when on the floor, and Trapp have combined to make 28 threes on 78 attempts (35.9%).
Khalifa, who is from Egypt, has multiple assists in 6 of 7 games this season, and had a season-high seven against Appalachian State in a road win. He finished with six assists last time out.
Charlotte, according to KenPom data, ranks 22nd nationally in free throw percentage (79.4), but its opponents have made 80.4% of their attempts at the line. The 49ers have knocked down 54.2% of their two-point looks, which ranks 61st in the country.