A Sluggish First Half Fades as Arkansas Takes Charge Against Fresno State

The No. 25-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks (7-2, 0-0 SEC) captured their seventh victory of the season with an 82-58 win over Fresno State (6-4, 0-0 Mountain West) in North Little Rock on Saturday. The Bulldogs offered little resistance, and the lack of challenge seemed to affect the Razorbacks’ performance early in the game.

Neither team looked sharp in the opening minutes. By the first media timeout, the two squads had combined to shoot just 3 of 14 from the floor and 0 of 6 from beyond the arc, with Arkansas holding a slim 5-2 lead.

After a sluggish first half at Simmons Bank Arena, Arkansas found its rhythm in the second. The Razorbacks pushed their lead to as many as 32 points midway through the half. Fresno State briefly trimmed the margin to 18 points following Richmond’s ejection for a Flagrant Two foul, but freshman Isaiah Sealy and senior Malique Ewin helped steady the team down the stretch, securing an 82-58 victory. 

Slow Start and Early Mistakes

Arkansas won the opening tip, but DJ Wagner coughed up the ball on the very first possession. Knox hustled back to deny a fast-break layup, though Pringle couldn’t secure the rebound. The Razorbacks avoided giving up a second-chance opportunity when Gory swatted the ball out of bounds. After a stretch of empty possessions from both teams, Brazile read an errant pass from Heidbreder, intercepted it, and was fouled on the shot. He converted one of two free throws to get Arkansas on the board.

Knox pulled down a rebound off a Faas miss, and Acuff finished with a layup to give the Razorbacks a 3-0 lead. A lengthy review returned possession to Fresno State, but Collins missed a three-pointer. Wagner came up empty on consecutive open threes, and Douglas failed to capitalize on the next chance. Acuff answered with a tough leaner, pushing Arkansas ahead 5-0. Fresno State finally got on the board on a Collins layup twenty seconds later, and another Wagner turnover sent the teams to the first media timeout.

Through that opening stretch, Fresno State had made just 1 of 8 field-goal attempts and was 0 of 4 from three, while Arkansas was 2 of 6 overall and 0 of 2 from deep. Both Razorback turnovers came courtesy of Wagner.

Bench Sparks Momentum as Arkansas Finds Rhythm

Thomas, Richmond, and Ewin checked into the game, and the energy on the court surged immediately. Richmond, carrying over his dazzling form from the last matchup against Louisville, forced a steal and threw down a slam, sparking a 7-0 run. Ewin picked up an early foul, then another moments later after tipping in a missed Brazile layup, giving him two personals and sending him straight to the bench.

Thomas followed with a left-wing three after a Fresno miss, pushing the lead to 12-2, but Mani answered with a three-pointer to snap the drought. Richmond then hit a three of his own before Mani and Brazile exchanged words, prompting a timeout. Out of the break, both Mani and Brazile were assessed technical fouls, and Richmond’s three-pointer was downgraded to a two, giving Arkansas a 14-5 edge.

Mani sank two free throws before Richmond threaded an alley-oop to Pringle. Thomas was fouled and split his free throws to extend the lead to 17-7, then stole the ball on Fresno’s next possession and converted a layup. 

Fresno responded with a Mani layup, cutting the deficit to 19-9 at the under-eight timeout.

Fresno Hangs Around While Arkansas Struggles to Pull Away

Out of the timeout, Knox converted a pass from Acuff for a layup. Jacques saw his shot blocked by Knox but recovered for a follow-up score. Gory knocked down a pull-up jumper to bring Fresno within eight, 21-13. Acuff responded with a tough layup, pushing the Razorbacks’ lead to 23-13 with four minutes remaining in the first half. Thomas then turned the ball over, and Diouf took it coast to coast for a slam.

Thomas answered immediately with a three-pointer, extending the lead to 26-15. Later, Gory finished a dunk off a feed from Rieber, and Heidbreder drew a foul, sending the game to the under-four timeout.

After the break, Kocevar tipped in a missed Heidbreder shot to cut the lead to 26-19. Richmond missed a three, but Brazile grabbed the offensive rebound and found Wagner, who was fouled and converted both free throws. Acuff split a pair at the line to make it 29-19. Wagner later hit a deep corner jumper that was ruled a two, Heidbreder made two free throws, and Wagner followed with a three-pointer assisted by Richmond. Stickman closed the half with a tough, off-balance three, bringing Fresno within ten at 34-24.

Razorbacks Explode Out of Halftime

Arkansas came out blazing in the second half. Knox knocked down two quick three-pointers, and Wagner added one of his own, forcing an early timeout from Fresno State coach Vance Walberg. Acuff then stole the ball from Collins and converted it into a thunderous slam, fueling the Razorbacks’ momentum.

Heidbreder made two free throws for Fresno, but Brazile answered with a contested layup, completing a three-point play despite contact from Mani. Acuff followed with a three-pointer, stretching the lead to 50-26. Jacques scored on a tip-in to briefly halt the run, and Stickman added a layup on the next possession. Knox knocked down another three, and Acuff followed with a rapid three less than thirty seconds later. Arkansas opened the half on a 19-6 run, shooting 8 of 10 overall and 5 of 7 from deep.

After a timeout, Jacques scored again before Wagner drilled his second three of the half to make it 59-32. Ewin split a pair of free throws, then grabbed a rebound off a Brazile block and raced the court for a layup.

Douglas finally ended Fresno’s scoring drought, but the Razorbacks were already on a 12-2 run over the previous four minutes. Acuff added another three to push the lead to 65-34. Douglas split a pair of free throws before Richmond delivered a dramatic putback dunk over multiple defenders, electrifying the crowd.

Fresno State mounted a brief 5-0 spurt, but Thomas answered with a three-pointer, extending the lead to 70-40. Moments later, Richmond was ejected for a Flagrant Two foul after appearing to elbow a Fresno player. Heidbreder made both free throws and scored a layup, creating a four-point possession and cutting the lead to 71-44 at the under-eight timeout.

Fresno Pushes Back Before Arkansas Closes It Out

Ewin and Jacques traded baskets before Sealy sank a free throw to push the lead to 74-48. Fresno responded with an 8-0 run as Arkansas went cold, eventually turning it into a 12-1 stretch over four minutes while the Razorbacks missed 11 of their last 12 shots.

Sealy ended the drought with two free throws, and Acuff followed with an alley-oop assist to Ewin, extending the lead to 78-56. With a minute remaining, Sealy stole the ball from Kocevar and scored off a feed from Acuff. Faas missed a three on the next possession, but Acuff led the fast break and found Sealy for a dunk that fired up the crowd once more.

Faas added a late layup with 29 seconds remaining, and Arkansas ran out the clock to secure an 82-58 victory.

Final Stats and Player Performances

Four Razorbacks reached double figures in scoring. Freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr. led the way with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting (58.3 percent), including 3-of-6 from three-point range (50 percent). Junior guard DJ Wagner and freshman guard Meleek Thomas each added 12 points.

For Fresno State, freshman center Wilson Jacques and junior forward Jac Mani paced the Bulldogs with 12 points apiece. Jacques shot 5-of-9 from the floor (55.5 percent), while Mani was 4-of-7 (57.1 percent) and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc (50 percent).

Arkansas finished the game shooting 30-of-66 from the floor (45.5 percent) and 11-of-30 from three-point range (36.7 percent). Fresno State converted 22-of-63 shots overall (34.9 percent) and 4-of-26 from long distance (15.4 percent). The Bulldogs held a 41-39 advantage on the boards, but Arkansas led in bench points, 35-24, and assists, 17-11.

Looking Ahead to the Texas Tech Rematch

The Razorbacks now travel to Dallas to face the Texas Tech Red Raiders (6-2) at the American Airlines Center. The matchup renews last season’s Sweet Sixteen clash, where Arkansas fell short against the Red Raiders. Labeled the “Revocruit Rematch,” Arkansas trails the all-time series 40-41.

Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. Central Time.