Razorbacks guard JD Notae led all scorers with 21 points and Arkansas closed its exhibition schedule with a 68-60 victory over North Texas on Saturday.
The Razorbacks led by as many as 17 points in the first half and led 42-28 at halftime, but the Mean Green's second-half effort made things interesting late. North Texas trimmed Arkansas' lead to 3 with 4:06 remaining.
But the Razorbacks added 6 free throws, 2 layups and a dunk in the final minutes to close out the win.
Miami transfer guard Chris Lykes added 14 points off the bench for Arkansas and forward Stanley Umude finished with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists prior to fouling out late in the second half.
Davonte Davis and Au'Diese Toney combined for 15 points, and Trey Wade, a transfer from Wichita State who has battled a knee injury this preseason, chipped in 5 points and 4 rebounds in his first 17 minutes with the Razorbacks.
Arkansas' next game is its season opener against Mercer on Nov. 9.
:23.2, 2H - Chris Lykes is fouled and hits 2 free throws, pushing Arkansas' edge to 68-60. North Texas misses a 3 on the other end, it's rebounded by the Razorbacks and Trey Wade is fouled.
Wade misses both attempts, but the Mean Green throw the ball away.
:48.9, 2H - North Texas adds a layup to cut its deficit to 66-60. Mardrez McBride has a team-high 16 points for the Mean Green. North Texas call for time.
1:08, 2H - JD Notae catches the Arkansas inbound pass on the right sideline, finds Devo Davis near the top of the key then he lobs to Au'Diese Toney for a dunk. Arkansas up 66-58.
1:18, 2H - Arkansas turns the ball over attempting a simple dribble handoff on the right wing, and North Texas gets a layup out of it as JD Notae goaltends the layup. Au'Diese Toney then has to burn a timeout as he tries to inbound the ball. Arkansas up 64-58.
1:59, 2H - JD Notae drove the right side of the lane and drew a foul. The North Texas player hit with the whistle didn't care for it and said something an official didn't like. He was assessed a technical foul.
Notae hit 1 of 2 technical free throws. Arkansas' lead is 64-56 after the 2 additional free throw attempts.
2:52, 2H - JD Notae missed a left-wing 3, Devo Davis saved it inbounds to Trey Wade then he added a layup plus the foul. Big-time hustle play on Davis' part. Razorbacks back up by 8.
3:38, 2H - Razorbacks get a big score on kind of a busted play out of the timeout. Au'Diese Toney wrestled the ball away from a North Texas defender on the left block then kissed a shot off the glass.
3:53, 2H - Stanley Umude fouls out with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. His foul led to 2 free throws, which North Texas hit to pull within 56-53 at the final media timeout of the game.
Arkansas scored 42 points in the first half on 7 of 12 from 3, but has just 14 points since halftime and has missed all 5 3-point looks. The Razorbacks are shooting 6 of 20 in the second half.
No Arkansas player has more than 4 points since the break. Razorbacks ball on the baseline when play resumes.
5:05, 2H - Au'Diese Toney missed a wide open left-corner 3, and North Texas on the other end hits a tough layup plus the foul. The Mean Green trail 56-51.
6:31, 2H - After North Texas hit 1 of 2 free throws, Devo Davis knocks down a midrange jumper left of the lane to put Arkansas back in front by 8. He had a tougher jumper spin out the next trip down.
6:51, 2H - Arkansas leads 54-47 at the under-8 media timeout. Chris Lykes has joined JD Notae and Stanley Umude in double figures with 12 after back-to-back scores.
Trey Wade was hit with his third foul prior to the timeout. He was jockeying for rebounding position and took a Mean Green forward to the floor with him.
Arkansas is 5 of 16 from the floor in the second half, including 0 of 4 from deep. North Texas is 8 of 16 as a team – 0 of 5 from 3.
7:48, 2H - Chris Lykes turns defense into offense and snaps Arkansas' scoring lull with a layup off a steal. He then hits a stepback 2-point jumper from the right short corner on the Razorbacks' next possession. Arkansas' lead is 54-47.
8:28, 2H - Tylor Perry with a fancy up-and-under finish plus the foul to trim Arkansas' lead to 50-45. Perry has 12. The Razorbacks have 0 points over the last 4-plus minutes.
9:52, 2H - Arkansas cannot come up with a defensive rebound between Stanley Umude and Au'Diese Toney, and North Texas adds a short layup to pull within 50-42. Devo Davis has checked back in with 4 fouls.
11:50, 2H - Arkansas holds a 50-38 lead at the under-12 media timeout. JD Notae has a game-high 18 points on 5 of 12 shooting, and Stanley Umude has 12.
North Texas is getting in its own way a bit in the second half. It has hit 5 of 8 shots since halftime, but 5 turnovers have brought down efficiency. The Mean Green are 5 of 6 on 2-point attempts since halftime.
Mardrez McBride is the lone North Texas player in double figures with 12. Tylor Perry has 9 on 2 of 7 shooting.
The Razorbacks are 3 of 9 from the floor in this half.
12:39, 2H - Stanley Umude caught on the left wing, thought about passing to a teammate in the left corner for a brief moment then drove the lane and threw down a mean 2-handed dunk. He's got 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting. Razorbacks' lead is 50-38.
15:35, 2H - Devo Davis was hit with his fourth foul of the game on a really questionable moving screen call. JD Notae hit a deep 3 on the play, but it was wiped away. Stanley Umude took a charge on the Mean Green's next possession and forced a jump ball in the restricted area moments later.
Arkansas leads 46-32 at the first media timeout of the second half.
Notae has a game-high 16 points and Umude has added 10 to go with 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
17:35, 2H - Stanley Umude caught in the left corner, shot faked, drove baseline and finished a difficult layup. Umude is now in double figures with 10. Razorbacks lead 46-30.
19:32, 2H - Au'Diese Toney opens the second half with a tough floater in the lane. Toney has 4 points today on 2 of 2 from the floor. Arkansas' lead is 16.
Half - JD Notae leads all scorers with 16 points on 5 of 9 shooting and 4 of 6 from 3-point range and Arkansas leads 42-28.
Stanley Umude and Chris Lykes each have 8 points as well on a combined 4 of 6 from the floor. Underrated half by KK Robinson, who finished with 1 point, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Arkansas was plus-17 in his 13 minutes on the floor.
The Razorbacks are 7 of 12 from deep, and North Texas is struggling there, hitting just 3 of 17 looks. The Mean Green hit only 8 of 32 shots in the half while the Razorbacks are shooting 48% as a team.
Davonte Davis added 5 points in the half, but he battled some foul trouble (3) and did not play over the final 9:49 of the half.
Tylor Perry has 7 points for North Texas. Mardrez McBride has 10 to lead the team.
Arkansas led by as many as 17 points following an 18-0 run that spanned more than 5 minutes.
:22.2, 1H - North Texas trimmed its deficit to 11 with a 3-ball and transition score, but JD Notae buried a deep 3 from the left wing then added a layup to push Arkansas' lead back to 16.
2:34, 1H - KK Robinson gets on the board by splitting a pair of free throws after attacking the North Texas 2-2-1 pressure. Razorbacks up 16.
3:36, 1H - JD Notae is now in double figures with 11 after a left-wing 3 following a great shot fake. Stanley Umude then added a layup in transition off a North Texas turnover. Umude has 8. Razorbacks' lead is 36-20 at the final media timeout of the first half.
4:43, 1H - The Mean Green added 5 quick points following JD Notae's 3, but Tylor Perry fouled Chris Lykes and sent him to the line. Lykes hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it a 31-18 game. He and Notae now each have 8 points.
5:15, 1H - JD Notae just extended Arkansas' run to 18-0 and its lead to 30-13 with a right-wing 3. Notae has a team-high 8 points, Chris Lykes 7 and Stanley Umude 6.
6:35, 1H - The set that got Justin Smith a lot of post touches on the left block last season, Arkansas just ran it for Stanley Umude and he added a nice short jumper in the lane. Razorbacks up 27-13.
7:13, 1H - Stanley Umude found a cutting Au'Diese Toney for a layup and the foul. Officials initially called a charge on Toney, but they changed the call after a short conference. Grant McCasland was T'd up moments later.
Arkansas' lead is up to 25-13. North Texas has hit 1 of its last 13 shots.
7:48, 1H - Stanley Umude just knocked down a right-wing 3 to push Arkansas' lead to 21-13. Another great find by KK Robinson, who drove baseline from the left corner to hit Umude, who was shot ready. Mean Green call for time.
KK hasn’t scored yet, but he’s played a great 6 minutes. Solid defensive play earlier that led to a transition score for Devo Davis, made an advance pass to Umude that led to free throws, and a had great find of Umude on the right wing for the 3.
Razorbacks are +7 with KK on the floor.
8:26, 1H - After forcing a North Texas miss, KK Robinson made a great advance pass to Stanley Umude in the right corner. He caught, drove baseline and drew a foul. He split the free throws. Arkansas' lead is 16-13.
10:27, 1H - Devo Davis knocks down a right-corner 3 to give Arkansas a 15-13 lead. Form and released on the attempt looked terrific. Davis has 5 points so far.
11:15, 1H - Mardrez McBride hits all 3 of his free throws to pull North Texas within 12-10. Tylor Perry, who played high school basketball in Northwest Arkansas, then buries a 3 to put the Mean Green back on top.
11:54, 1H - Great help defense by KK Robinson leads to a steal for him and a transition bucket from Devo Davis to extend Arkansas' run to 9-0 over the last 5 minutes. Arkansas leads 12-7 at the under-12 timeout.
Chris Lykes has played a really nice half so far, but he just fouled a North Texas shooter beyond the arc. Eric Musselman was not happy. The Mean Green will be at the line for 3 shots when play resumes.
13:46, 1H - Chris Lykes has been the early story. He drew a foul to put Arkansas in the bonus and hit both free throws. Razorbacks lead 10-7. He has 7 points and also drew a foul on a North Texas player as he blocked out on a missed shot.
15:48, 1H - Chris Lykes 3-ball gives Arkansas an 8-7 lead. He's been great in his short time on the floor. Lykes has 5 points and JD Notae has 3. Razorbacks are plus-5 with Lykes in the lineup.
16:22, 1H - Chris Lykes came in and immediately attacked the rim, drawing a foul. He hit both free throws. The Razorbacks' defense then forced a shot clock violation. Mean Green up 7-5.
17:13, 1H - North Texas has taken a 7-3 lead with a 3-ball and layup in transition. Chris Lykes checks in for Devo Davis, who has been initiating offense so far.
18:42, 1H - JD Notae hits Arkansas' first shot, a 3 from several feet beyond the arc on the left wing. Hogs up 3-2.
19:01, 1H - North Texas gets on the board first with a dunk late in the shot clock. Jaxson Robinson misfired on a 3 on Arkansas’ first possession then JD Notae blocked a Mean Green layup attempt, sparking a transition chance for Devo Davis, who missed a layup.
Pregame
Arkansas' starters: Davonte Davis, JD Notae, Jaxson Robinson, Au'Diese Toney and Stanley Umude.
The lone change from the Razorbacks' first exhibition is Robinson joining the starting group in place of Jaylin Williams, who is not in uniform today. Eric Musselman has said Robinson is evolving as a defender, but his greatest strength is perimeter shooting, and Arkansas struggled there against East Central last weekend.
Kamani Johnson is also not dressed out for Arkansas, but Wichita State transfer Trey Wade is and going through warmups at a good pace.
North Texas' starters: Thomas Bell, J.J. Murray, Rubin Jones, Abou Ousmane and Mardrez McBride.