Arkansas defeated Emporia State, 94-44, Friday night in its final exhibition contest of the season inside Bud Walton Arena.
Mike Anderson moves to 12-0 in exhibition games at Arkansas, beating those teams by an average of 35.6 points per game. Anderson also improves to 30-0 all-time as a head coach in exhibition contests.
The Razorbacks and the Hornets traded buckets early on, but Arkansas used 14 turnovers to go along with a 44-10 run with 16:46 left in the first half to pull to a 49-16 halftime lead. Senior big man Moses Kingsley scored 12 of his 16 points during the run, including 10 straight by himself.
Arkansas opened the second half on another impressive run. The Razorbacks scored 15 unanswered points as a part of a 21-4 run with six straight coming off three turnovers in the backcourt. Arkansas scored 42 points off 30 turnovers. In the two exhibition games, Arkansas has outscored its opponents 96-34 in the paint. The Razorbacks shot 76 percent from the charity stripe, making 25-of-33 free throws.
Once again, the Razorbacks used their depth as five players scored in double figures. Junior guard Daryl Macon scored a game-high 21 points to go along with three rebounds and three assists. Seven Razorbacks pulled down at least three rebounds, including Adrio Bailey who had a game-high eight boards. Arkansas went 32-of-59 from the field as a team, shooting 54 percent.
WHAT MIKE ANDERSON HAD TO SAY
“We do a good job sharing the basketball. We are a team that wants to get to the free throw line and our defense does a good job of spreading the responsibility, so we are able to keep possession of the ball. I want guys to play on both ends of the court. We did what we were supposed to do and we are able to develop confidence from that.” – Coach Mike Anderson
“We will be tested this season. We have a tough schedule and we have to play like we want the basketball. We have to play like we want to win in every game.” – Coach Mike Anderson
UP NEXT
Arkansas will open the regular season next Friday, Nov. 11 against non-conference opponent Fort Wayne at 7 p.m. inside Bud Walton Arena. The Mastodons are the preseason favorite to capture the Summit League Championship.
