Arkansas Wins Inaugural Old Spice Classic with 71-64 Win over West Virginia

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) -Sonny Weems scored 19 points and Charles Thomas added 13, helping Arkansas to a 71-64 victory over West Virginia on Sunday night in the championship game of the Old Spice Classic at Disney World.

Vincent Hunter gave Arkansas (5-0) a 16-point advantage on a layup and free throw with 5:34 left in the game, but West Virginia (5-1) climbed to within four on a 3-pointer by DaSean Butler with 47 seconds to go.

Darris Nichols had 15 points and Joe Alexander finished with 14 to pace West Virginia. Teammates Alex Ruoff and Frank Young scored 12 and 10, respectively.

Gary Ervin scored all of his eight points in the first half and Weems, the only player to score more than 14 points against the Mountaineers this season, chipped in nine to lead the Razorbacks to a 35-28 lead at the break.

Weems and Patrick Beverley, who contributed seven points, six reboundsand five steals, were named to the inaugural all-tournament team. In the wins over Southern Illinois, Marist and WVU, Weems averaged 12.7 points and 5.3 rebounds. Beverley averaged 11.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 3.0 steals and 1.0 blocked shot.

Nichols and Young represented the Mountaineers on the squad. Jared Jordan of Marist was named the most outstanding player in the eight-team event.

Steven Hill blocked a pair of shots for Arkansas to finish with a record nine in three tournament games.

Arkansas had 19 turnovers and just two steals while forcing only five turnovers, but the Hogs countered by shooting 61.1 percent in the second half (11-18) and 53.5 percent for the game (23-43) while holding West Virginia to 38.6 percent shooting (22-57). The Razorbacks also shot 41.2 percent from three-point (7-17) and 85.7 percent at the line (18-21) while dominating the boards, 38-18.

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