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Other than giving up a 13-4 run in the second half that trimmed the lead to 11 points, the Hogs pretty much dominated the game. It was everything UA fans have been hoping to see with Mike Anderson as the head coach. There was defense, dunking, shooting, fast breaking, balanced scoring, and few complaints.
Bring on Arizona State and either Wisconsin or Creighton. Let's find out how good this team is.
Here's the game story via UA Media Relations:
Behind a double-double from junior Marshawn Powell, the University of Arkansas men’s basketball team downed the Florida A&M Rattlers by a score of 89-60 for Arkansas’ second game of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational.
“Florida A&M came in and tested us,” head coach Mike Anderson said. “We missed easy opportunities to distance ourselves, but it was a good gut check for our guys.”
Leading the Razorbacks on the court was Powell, who recorded the eighth double-double of his career and first since the 2010-11 season with 21 points and 10 boards against the Rattlers.
“Powell had a double-double and had a good balanced scoring night,” Anderson said. “He is starting to look like his old self.”
Four other Razorbacks, Rickey Scott (13), BJ Young (12), Mardracus Wade (11) and Coty Clarke (10) scored in double-figures as the team advanced to 3-0 on the season. The Razorback bench contributed largely to the win, scoring 35 of the team’s 89 points.
“I loved our energy off the bench with Ricky Scott and Coty Clarke in particular,” Anderson said. “Coty came off the bench with good energy.”
Arkansas went 7-of-17 from the three-point line and recorded 20 points on the free-throw line in the victory. Defensively, the Razorbacks had a tremendous game, picking up 10 steals and eight blocks.
At the start of the game, Powell electrified the crowd when he recorded a defensive rebound and drove it down the court picking up a crowd-pleasing dunk off an assist from Mickelson. The next three Razorback possessions were all Powell as the Newport News, Va., native recorded two layups and a dunk, making it eight-straight Razorback points to put Arkansas up 15-6 with 14:37 remaining in the first half.
With 12:31 remaining in the first the Razorbacks began a momentous 12-0 run, in which four different UA players scored to put Arkansas up 29-12.
The Razorbacks would conclude the half with an 18-point lead over Florida A&M with five different Razorbacks making a three-pointer and nine different UA players putting points on the board. Leading the Razorbacks was Powell who recorded 13 first-half points and five boards. Arkansas would capitalize on the 10 Rattler turnovers and put up 19 points.
To open the second-half it was Powell again that stunned the crowd as he blocked a shot by the Rattlers and snagged the defensive rebound only to drive the ball down the court for another dunk, which put the Razorbacks up by 20, 51-31. The Rattlers would respond by putting together a 13-4 run to close the gap to 11 with 15:05 remaining in the first. After a timeout, Arkansas would pick up the pace and shut out the Rattler offense as they put up a 13-0 run in 4:23 to extend their lead to 10, 64-44 with 13:15 remaining.
Arkansas would keep up the intensity for the rest of the game as they finished with a final score of 89-60, putting the Razorbacks margin of victory over the last three games at nearly 28 points per game.
The Razorbacks will hit the road on Friday to take on Arizona State at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., at 6:00 p.m. CT as a part of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational.