The No. 9 Arkansas Razorbacks fed off an incredible performance from freshman Anthony Black on their way to an 80-54 win over the Louisville Cardinals in the Hogs' first game at the Maui Invitational on Monday.
From the 7:18 to 5:12 mark in the second half, Arkansas recorded six straight steals and turned it into five dunks and one layup to take a 67-42 lead and drain any life left for the Cardinals.
In front of a strong showing from Razorback fans at the Lahaina Civic Center, Black recorded 26 points, three rebounds and six assists. He drained three 3-pointers and was 9-11 from the field. Ricky Council IV added 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Defense was on display for much of the contest as the Hogs forced 22 turnovers and limited Louisville to just 36.4% shooting from the field.
Arkansas did all of its work on offense with Davonte Davis scoring just two points, Trevon Brazile scoring one and Nick Smith Jr. not even playing.
The Hogs will now look ahead to a game against No. 10 Creighton, who beat No. 21 Texas Tech 76-65 in the first game of the Maui Invitational. The Hogs and Bluejays will tipoff at 7 p.m. CT Tuesday on ESPN.
Here's a recap from Arkansas' fourth win over the season, which made the Hogs 19-0 in the month of November under head coach Eric Musselman:
Makhi Mitchell won the opening tip and Davonte Davis drove the lane right away to score the first bucket of the game. There wasn't another shot made for another 3:27 until Jordan Walsh sank a three to put the Hogs up 5-0.
The Cardinals finally got on the board on a jumper from JJ Traynor at the 14:48 mark in the first half. A 3:14 scoring drought by Arkansas allowed the Cardinals to make it 5-4 on a dunk from Traynor at the 13:23 mark. Ricky Council IV came right back with the second 3-pointer of the day for the Hogs.
Walsh hit a free throw out of the under-12 media timeout and the Cardinals hit a layup right after to make it a 9-7 Arkansas lead. Black drove from the left corner and slammed it home on the ensuing Arkansas possession. He then hit his first three of the game to put the Hogs up 14-7 with 10:28 left in the first half.
Louisville's El Ellis hit a floater and on the next possession he drained the Cardinals' first 3-pointer of the game to make it 15-13. The Hogs made two layups from Council and Makhi Mitchell on the next two possessions to go up by six at the under-8 minute timeout.
A two-point jumper and a three from Black out of the timeout put the Hogs up 24-13 with 6:05 left in the half and forced a Louisville timeout. Davis found a cutting Council for a lob to make it 27-14 and the Razorback faithful at the Lahaina Civic Center made themselves heard.
Out of the under-4 minute timeout, the Cardinals went on a 5-0 run that featured two trips to the free throw line and trimmed Arkansas' lead to eight. Following two free throws from Makhel Mitchell, Louisville's Kamari Lands hit a 3-pointer to cut it to a 31-24 Razorback lead.
After a pair of free throws from Lands, Walsh knocked down a three to make it 34-26 with 1:23 left in the half. The teams traded a pair of baskets in the final nine seconds to make it a 36-28 Arkansas advantage at the break.
The teams traded 3-pointers out of the break, as Council hit one for the Hogs and Ellis countered for the Cardinals. By the under-16 minute timeout, the Razorbacks had put up just three shots, had three turnovers and led 43-33.
Traynor went on a 5-0 run by himself for the Cardinals to cut the Arkansas lead to 43-38, but Black hit his third three of the day to give the Hogs momentum again at the 14:00 mark. A 3-pointer from Council put the Razorbacks up 52-40 going into the under-12 timeout.
A lob from Black to Makhel Mitchell showed off the highlight reel ability of this year's Razorbacks squad and gave them a 15-point advantage with 7:34 remaining.
Out of the timeout, Walsh poked the ball away and threw it ahead to Council, who slammed it down emphatically. Black grabbed a steal of his own and it led to another Arkansas slam, this time from Makhel Mitchell to make it 61-42 and force a Louisville timeout.
The Hogs continue to do much of the same, recording six steals and turning it into 12 points that extended a run to 17-0. A pair of free throws from Louisville ended the run, but not after the Hogs ran away with things to take a 69-44 lead at the under-4 timeout.
Freshmen Joseph Pinion and Derrian Ford checked in after the break and the Cardinals scored five straight before a dunk from Arkansas' Jalen Graham.
Musselman sent out walk-ons Cade Arbogast and Lawson Blake with 54 seconds left and then Ford hit a layup to make it 78-54 with 36 seconds remaining. Pinion hit a pair of free throws to finish out the scoring at 80-54.
