Hogs hang on in second half to down Kansas State in Hall of Fame Classic

KANSAS CITY — Chris Lykes made 10-of-10 free throws inside the final 1:46 to lead No. 12-13 Arkansas to a 72-64 victory over Kansas State on Monday night.

It was a good start on the first day of the Hall of Fame Classic at T-Mobile Center.

Lykes finished with 14 points, as did Connor Vanover. Au’Diese Toney added 13 while JD Notae scored 10 points and Stanley Umude had 10.

Arkansas led by as many as 18 late in the first half and took a 42-24 lead into the locker room.

Kansas State, which shot just 25.9 percent in the first half, made 46.9 percent of its shots in the second half to out-score the Razorbacks 40-30.

The Wildcats got to within eight (60-52) with 4:43 remaining, which was the first time K-State trailed by single digits since being down nine (17-8) with 12:26 left in the first half.

Later, Arkansas used a 9-2 run to push its lead to 17 (30-13).

The Wildcats scored first to open the second half and used a 14-5 run in the second half to get to within nine.

Notae made two jumpers in the lane and Toney had a layup to hold the Wildcats at bay.

Nijel Pack sank to free throws with 1:53 left to cut the K-State deficit to six (62-54).

From that point, Lykes made 8-of-8 free throws for the Razorbacks and pushed its lead to 10 (70-60) with 30 seconds left. K-State once again got to within six before Lykes sealed the win with two free throws with eight ticks left for the 72-64 win.

Arkansas will face Cincinnati on Tuesday for the Hall of Fame Classic championship. Tipoff is set for 8:30 pm (CT) on ESPN2.

FIRST HALF: Arkansas 42 – K-State 24

• Arkansas jumped out to a 10-2 lead to start the game, including four points from Connor Vanover.

• Arkansas had back-to-back steals to force a K-State timeout at 13:17. The first my Stanley Umude led to him slamming home a fast-break dunk. The second by JD Notae forced the timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Umude hit a jumper in the lane for a 17-6 lead.

• Behind 10 points from Au’Diese Toey, Arkansas led 30-13 with 6:46 left in the first half.

• Connor Vanover was 7-of-7 at the free throw line and had 10 points at the half, tying Toney for team-high honors.

• Arkansas held K-State to 25.9 percent shooting in the first half.

• Both teams relied on the free throws as Arkansas was 15-of-17 and K-State was 10-of-14.

• The 15 free throws makes by Arkansas is the most by the Razorbacks since making 18 vs Morgan State on Nov. 24, 2009.

GAME NOTES

• Arkansas’ starting lineup was Davonte Davis – JD Notae – Au’Diese Toney – Jaylin Williams – Connor Vanover for the third straight game.

• Arkansas won the tip for the fourth straight game.

• Connor Vanover scored the game’s first points on two free throws at 19:43.

• Stanley Umude was the first Razorback sub.

• Lykes scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half.

• The last Razorback to shoot 100 percent from the FT line (with at least 10 attempts) was Isaiah Joe, who was 12-of-12 vs Tennessee on Feb. 26, 2020.

• Arkansas is now 4-8 all-time versus K-State, thanks to three straight wins in the series. Arkansas is now 1-2 versus K-State in Kansas City.

• Arkansas is now 7-6 all-time in games played in Kansas City.

• This was the first game of the year Arkansas did not have a double-digit run. Its best run versus K-State was 8-0 at the 16:40 mark of the first half.

• Au’Diese Toney was one rebound shy of a double-double, getting 13 points and nine boards.

• JD Notae was just 4-of-17 from the field (2-of-10 3PT) but he made two of Arkansas’ three 3-pointers (3-of-22). He finished with 11 points and is the only Razorback to score in double figures all four games.

• Arkansas has made a 3-pinter in 1,079 straight games, the third-best active streak in the NCAA behind UNLV and Duke.

• Arkansas is now 407-10 when ranked in the top 25, including a 114-47 mark in such games at neutral sites. Arkansas is 16-5 all-time when ranked #13 in the AP poll.

• Musselman is 51-14 when his college teams are ranked, including a 13-2 mark at Arkansas.

Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.