Arkansas moves to 7-0 with 66-60 win over Northern Kentucky

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FAYETTEVILLE – Despite allowing eight threes from the Northern Kentucky Norse and a season-high 33.3% allowed from deep, the Razorback defense proved faithful once again and the (essentially) five-man offense managed to do just enough to take the 66-60 win. Arkansas moves to a perfect 7-0 record, a feat that hasn't been achieved since the 1997-98 season in the Nolan Richardson era.

It became clear about an hour before tip-off that the Hogs would be playing without junior guard Mason Jones due to a mild shoulder injury so Arkansas would need to find a way to make up for his team-high 18.5 points per game (and 5.5 boards). Graduate transfer Jeantal Cylla made his first start in Jones' place but contributed little in his five minutes.

Sills got the first bucket for the Hogs less than a minute into the game but Northern Kentucky hit three shots (two threes) before Arkansas scored again. With a 2-8 deficit, Musselman called his first timeout this season less than four minutes into the game.

The Norse got their lead up to nine behind solid zone defense but couldn't sustain that level of energy long. Sophomore Isaiah Joe hit the first three of the game for Arkansas but they went just 2-10 from deep in the first half.

It was a steal and dunk by Sills around the 11:30 mark that got the crowd really engaged in the game after the slow start.

The Hogs weren't able to knock down shots at their usual rate in the first half so they relied on driving to the rim–and great defense–to finally retake the lead after 16:16 of play. They finished the first half on a 13-3 run and the Norse missed four three-point attempts in a row.

Arkansas went into the locker room up 33-28 despite giving up 15 points to the Norse's leading scorer Dantez Walton. Twenty-two of Arkansas's first-half points came in the paint and they also notched 12 points off of eight Northern Kentucky turnovers. Reggie Chaney, who started the season off with a 3-game suspension, led the team with six of their 18 first-half rebounds.

The Razorbacks maintained control for most of the second half and extended their lead to 10 points a little over midway through but the Norse got hot to finish the game and closed the deficit down to three with less than three minutes to play. It was two-point lead with 25 seconds remaining and the ball in the Razorbacks' possession.

North Kentucky quickly fouled Joe and called a timeout after he missed his first shot. He made the second and the defense grabbed a board forcing a foul on Adrio Bailey. Bailey knocked down both of his shots, then Jimmy Whitt did the same giving Arkansas the six-point win.

With Cylla and Bailey combining for four points, the onus fell on Chaney and Jalen Harris to provide help off the bench. Chaney fouled out with 2:26 left to play after 11 rebounds and 6 points. Harris finished with 5 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.

Whitt, Sills and Joe dominated the scoreboard Saturday night with 24, 17 and 10 respectively.

Next game up for Arkansas is another home matchup against Austin Peay on Dec. 3 at 7 p.m.