Furious Razorback Comeback Falls Short at Wake
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — An Anthlon Bell three-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out as the Arkansas men’s basketball team lost to Wake Forest 88-85 Friday night at the LJVM Center.
Down by as many as 14 in the second half, the Razorbacks fought all the way back to take a 66-65 lead on a Dusty Hannahs three-point play with 8:45 remaining and it was a back-and-forth contest the rest of the way.
After Keaton Miles led off the game with a jumper to put the Razorbacks ahead 2-0, the visitors would not see another lead for the rest of the half, as the Demon Deacons took a 48-39 advantage into the break. Seven Arkansas players scored at least three points in the opening frame, including a team-high eight from Manuale Watkins.
Early in the second half, the Razorbacks started to catch fire after a Dinos Mitoglu dunk put Wake up 57-43 at the 17:23 mark. Arkansas then proceeded to go on a 25-10 run over the next nine minutes to take a one-point lead. Beginning with the Hannahs layup that took the lead, the Razorbacks hit seven consecutive shots to hang close with the Demon Deacons.
Ultimately, Wake pulled away by shooting 9-for-22 (41 percent) from beyond the arc as Arkansas fell to 3-4 on the short season. Four Razorbacks scored in double figures, led by Hannahs and Moses Kingsley, who scored 15 apiece. Watkins tied a career high with 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field and 2-for-3 from the foul line.
QUOTABLES
“They made some plays; they made more plays than we did going down the stretch. I liked the effort of our guys. When we really had a chance to fold early on, our guys grew up and didn’t let the adversity affect them.” — Head coach Mike Anderson
QUICK HITS
• Bell, Hannahs and Kingsley have now scored in double digits in all seven games this year.
• The Razorbacks have made four-plus threes in 50 of the last 55 games dating back to last season.
• With two blocks in the game, Kingsley is now three away from breaking into the top 10 of career blocks in program history.
• With three assists in the game, Watkins has now recorded two-plus assists in all seven games this season.
NEXT UP
The Razorbacks return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 8, welcoming Evansville to town for an 8 p.m. tip-off at Bud Walton Arena on SEC Network.
