Jaylin Williams, Chris Lykes pace Razorbacks to 93-80 win over NIU

Jaylin Williams had two blocked shots and two baskets to spur an 18-3 run inside the final 4:10 to lead No. 15-16 Arkansas to a 93-80 victory over Northern Iowa Wednesday night at Bud Walton Arena.

Several Razorbacks had standout performances in the win.

• Chris Lykes led all scorers with 26 points for his 17th career 20-point game.

• JD Notae just missed his second career triple-double with 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds with just one turnover.

• Stanley Umude early had a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.

• Williams finished with 11 points, a career-high seven assists and six rebounds.

Overall, six Razorbacks scored in double figures as Davonte Davis and Au’Diese Toney each scored 10.

Photo by Michael Morrison | HitThatLine.com

Northern Iowa stayed close as the Panthers drained 17-of-37 (45.9 percent) from 3-point range. However, the Razorbacks dished out 21 assists and only committed five turnovers to secure the win.

Arkansas had four runs of at least 7-0 in the game but UNI answered with runs of their own three times. The last Razorback run was extended to a 13-0 run that lead the decisive 18-3 spurt.

The last run started with the game tied at 75 with 4:10 to play. Arkansas scored to take a two-point lead only to see the Panthers’ AJ Green sank a 3-pointer to lead by one, 78-77 with 3:13 left.

From that point, Williams had a put-back, Toney hit a 3-pointer and Williams made a layup. Lykes hit four free throws and Notae two to cap the 13-0 run and put the Hogs up 90-79. The 3:29 minute UNI drought ended with a made free throw by Noah Carter with 41 seconds left.

Photo by Michael Morrison | HitThatLine.com

Trae Berhow led UNI with 23 points, making 7-of-11 from 3-point range.

Arkansas will hit the road for two games to participate in the Hall of Fame Classic, played Monday and Tuesday (Nov. 22-23) at Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center.

Arkansas will face Kansas State in the opener with tipoff set for approximately 8 pm and the game will be televised on ESPNews.

Arkansas will face either Cincinnati or Illinois on Tuesday with the losers’ bracket set for 6 pm on ESPNews and the winners’ bracket is set for 8:30 pm on ESPN2.

Photo by Michael Morrison | HitThatLine.com

FIRST HALF: Arkansas 40 – Northern Iowa 38

• Arkansas was down five (12-7) at the 16-minute time out (14:03). The Razorbacks used a 7-0 run to lead 14-12.

• Chris Lykes went on his own 7-0 run to put Arkansas up 23-17. UNI answered by drilling three-straight 3’s as part of a 9-0 run to lead 26-23.

• Arkansas used its third 7-0 run of the half to lead 26-34 with 2:10 left in the period

• Chris Lykes led the Hogs with 12 off the bench and JD Notae added 11.

• Nate Heise was 4-of-4 from the field (2-of-2 from 3PT) to lead the Panthers with 13 points.

Photo by Michael Morrison | HitThatLine.com

GAME NOTES

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

• Arkansas won the tip for the third straight game.

• JD Notae scored the game’s first points on a layup at 19:34 off a Jaylin Williams assist.

• Stanley Umude was the first Razorback sub.

• This was the first time Arkansas and Northern Iowa have ever met.

• Arkansas threw down five dunks including Trey Wade (2), Au’Diese Toney (2) and Jaylin Williams (1).

• Arkansas improved to 406-120 all-time as a ranked team and are 17-6 when ranked #16 in the AP poll.

• Eric Musselman is 12-2 when the Razorbacks are ranked and 49-12 all-time when his collegiate teams are ranked, including a 24-1 mark at home (7-0 at home at Arkansas).

• Jaylin Williams has 17 assists in three games. He entered the game as the only player 6-9 or taller in the NCAA to average at least 5.0 assists.

• Arkansas is a team of runs. The Hogs used an 18-3 run in the second half to beat Mercer, used a 29-5 run to beat Gardner-Webb and an 18-3 run Wednesday to beat UNI.

• Arkansas out-scored the Panthers 53-42 in the second half.