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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
