Bench Play Provides Big Spark In Blowout Victory

Box Score | Dunk Fest Highlights | Photos | Player Interviews | Anderson Interview

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Arkansas men’s basketball team captured it’s largest margin of victory this season Saturday night as the Razorbacks defeated Austin Peay 99-62 in Bud Walton Arena.

The Razorbacks improved to 6-1 on the season and have won at least six of their first seven games for the eighth time in the last 14 seasons and the 14th time since joining the Southeastern Conference.

Arkansas used a 21-3 run over a stretch of 7:45 in the first half to take a 35-18 lead, but the Governors cut the Arkansas lead to 41-31 at half. The Hogs got hot in the second half. Arkansas went on a 32-4 run to break the game wide open, shooting 63.9 percent (23-36) from the field in the second frame, including 6-11 from behind the arc.

The bench provided big minutes for Arkansas, outscoring the Governors 55-12. Three Razorbacks scored in double figures off the bench, including Adrio Bailey who finished with a career-high 14 points and seven rebounds.

C.J. Jones tied a career high in points with 11 and set a career high in blocks with three. Dusty Hannahs came off the bench for the first time this season and recorded 13 points to extend his streak of double-figure scoring games to 15 straight.

Arkansas has outscored its opponents in transition this season by a combined 126-34 margin after scoring 28 on the break against Austin Peay.

The Razorbacks distributed the ball well once again, assisting on 28 baskets, the most Arkansas has ever recorded under Mike Anderson. For the fourth time this season, Arkansas recorded 20 or more assists after doing so only nine times last season. The Razorbacks are 36-3 under Mike Anderson when hitting the 20 assist mark. Moses Kingsley led with team with a career-high five assists to go along with 13 points and seven rebounds.

Arkansas was big inside, outscoring the Governors 52-40 inside the paint and out-rebounding Austin Peay 47-31. The Razorbacks brought down 19 offensive rebounds and also swatted a season-high 11 shots on the defensive end. Arkansas entered the game with seven dunks on the season and brought the crowd to its feet with five slams, including a pair from Kingsley.

QUOTABLES
I thought we did a much better job at taking advantage of our momentum in the second half. We took the fight to Austin Peay. In the first half, we didn’t take advantage of the mismatches we had. In the second half, I thought we established our inside game. When we started the inside game, it opened up the outside game.” – head coach Mike Anderson

“I feel like our defense tonight was awesome. From the starting line up to everyone on the bench, everyone came in and kept the same energy on defense. We fed off of each other. Our defense tonight was probably the best we’ve played all year.” – junior guard Jaylen Barford

UP NEXT
The Razorbacks will play game four of a five-game homestand when Arkansas hosts the Houston Cougars on Tuesday, Dec. 6 inside Bud Walton Arena at 6 p.m.

TICKETS
Mini plans, mobile passes and single-game tickets for the 2016-17 season are available now at the Razorback Ticket Center by calling at 1-800-982-HOGS (4647) and online by clicking here.

For more information on Arkansas Men’s Basketball, follow @RazorbackMBB on Twitter.