National Basketball Association
Arkansas 92, IUPU - Ft. Wayne 83
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, November 11, 2016
Where: Bud Walton Arena, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Officials:
# Mike Nance, # Rob Rorke, # Brian Shey
Attendance:
13787
By The Sports Xchange
Make it 43 straight season-opening wins for Arkansas, and they have Dusty Hannahs to thank.
Hannahs scored 23 points to lead the Razorbacks to a 92-83 season-opening win over Fort Wayne on Friday night in Fayetteville, Ark.
But the Summit League favorite Mastodons (0-1) put a serious scare into the Razorbacks' impressive season-opening win streak. Arkansas has now won 22 straight openers and 44 of 46 season openers.
But it wasn't easy against the Mastodons, who trailed only 51-45 at halftime. For a team that thrived on the 3-point shot last year -- Fort Wayne made 40.3 percent last season to rank ninth in the nation -- Arkansas's lead was never comfortable enough.
And when it looked like the Razorbacks were in control, the Mastodons kept mounting comeback after comeback. But Fort Wayne never found its groove, especially from the free-throw line, where they made 24 of 40.
After trailing by eight to 10 points in the second half, Bryson Scott's free throw pulled Fort Wayne to 67-63 with a little over than nine minutes left in the game.
And that's when Hannahs went to work, connecting on two jumpers to extend the lead to eight. A conventional three-point play and a free throw gave Arkansas a bit of breathing room again at 75-67.
But the Mastodons had one last kick with Racine Talla hitting a 3 and a jumper to keep Fort Wayne's hopes alive. Arkansas snuffed those thoughts with a 12-4 run to seal the game.
In addition to Hannahs, five other Razorbacks reached double figures with Daryl Macon leading the way with 13.
Five Mastodons scored in double figures, with John Konchar totaling 17 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.
Mo Evans, who has a chance to win Summit League Player of the Year honors, was held to 13 points.
The team known for its prolific 3-point shooting made only 9 of 28 and the Razorbacks were 6 of 16.
Top Game Performances
IUPU - Ft. Wayne |
|
Arkansas |
John Konchar 17 |
Scoring |
Dusty Hannahs 23 |
John Konchar 4 |
Assists |
Daryl Macon 5 |
John Konchar 12 |
Rebounds |
Moses Kingsley 9 |
John Konchar 8 |
Free Throws Made |
Dusty Hannahs 8 |
John Konchar 2 |
Steals |
Daryl Macon 4 |
Kason Harrell 1 |
Blocks |
Moses Kingsley 7 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
IUPU - Ft. Wayne
|
83 |
36.2 |
9-28 |
24-40 |
12 |
40 |
2 |
5 |
12 |
Arkansas
|
92 |
53.0 |
6-16 |
16-24 |
20 |
37 |
9 |
9 |
13 |