National Basketball Association
Arkansas 89, North Texas 73
When: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, November 28, 2014
Where: Bud Walton Arena, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Officials:
# Bruce Benedict, # Pat Evans, # Mike Nance
Attendance:
14885
By SportsDirect Inc.
Arkansas 89, North Texas 73: Michael Qualls hit four 3-pointers en route to a career-best 22-point performance as the Razorbacks pulled away late against the visiting Mean Green.
Qualls added nine rebounds while Anthlon Bell had 15 points on the strength of four 3-pointers for Arkansas (5-0), which is off to its best start since 2006. Rashad Madden contributed 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds in the victory.
T.J. Taylor's 16 points paced North Texas (4-2), which surrendered 51 second-half points in the opener of a three-game road trip. Jordan Williams added 15 points while Muhammed Ahmed had 12 and Maurice Aniefiok chipped in 10.
Neither team led by more than four points until 6:47 remained in the first half, when a Qualls jumper following an Arkansas jump-ball win gave the Razorbacks a 28-23 advantage. The Mean Green battled back to take the lead on an Ahmed layup, but were held scoreless for the final 2:48 as Arkansas rode a Madden jumper with a minute left to carry a 38-36 edge into the break.
Bell knocked down a pair of early 3-pointers and Qualls added a long-range shot later in the half as the Razorbacks went up by seven, but Aniefiok and Taylor countered with 3-pointers to make it a 52-51 game with 13:50 remaining. A DeAndre Harris dunk gave North Texas the lead less than two minutes later, but Anton Beard hit a 3-pointer on the next possession, Bell added a three-point play with 7:18 remaining to cap an 11-2 run and the Mean Green didn't threaten again.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Arkansas has won 18 straight non-conference home games and has yet to lose in 14 meetings with North Texas. ... The Mean Green shot just 11-for-24 from the free-throw line. ... The Razorbacks committed six turnovers, well below their previous season low of 12.
Top Game Performances
North Texas |
|
Arkansas |
T.J. Taylor 16 |
Scoring |
Michael Qualls 22 |
Maurice Aniefiok 5 |
Assists |
Rashad Madden 7 |
Muhammed Ahmed 7 |
Rebounds |
Michael Qualls 9 |
Jeremy Combs 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Rashad Madden 6 |
Jeremy Combs 1 |
Steals |
Nick Babb 1 |
Jordan Williams 2 |
Blocks |
Alandise Harris 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
North Texas
|
73 |
44.8 |
10-20 |
11-24 |
14 |
32 |
4 |
2 |
10 |
Arkansas
|
89 |
40.8 |
11-27 |
20-25 |
21 |
44 |
4 |
3 |
6 |