Playing without Daniel Gafford and under experimental rules, Arkansas handled Providence on the road 84-72 in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament.

Arkansas came out firing and took advantage of a slow start from the Friars. The Razorbacks scored first and never trailed in a game that featured 19 Arkansas assists on 29 made field goals.

The Hogs needed production replacement with Gafford sitting out and got it in the form of Reggie Chaney and Ethan Henderson. The two combined for 20 points and 10 rebounds while Chaney blocked seven shots. Chaney’s 14 points was a season-high, as was Henderson’s six points.

Though the NIT is being played under experimental rules that include a deeper three point line, the Razorbacks were unfazed by the difference early on. After an old fashioned three point play from Adrio Bailey, Desi Sills, Gabe Osabouhien and Isaiah Joe knocked down a trio of threes to put the Hogs up 12-5 at the first media timeout.

Arkansas hit the first five three point shots it put up, with a Mason Jones long ball capping an 8-0 run and putting the Razorbacks up 20-9. On the other side, Providence started 0-6 in the game from beyond the experimental arc and finished 3-23.

Nonetheless, the Friars adapted and went on a quick 6-0 to pull themselves back into the game. All six points came from inside the broadened paint as Providence took an early 14-4 lead in points in the paint.

The game of spurts continued and the momentum swung back to the Razorbacks, who scored the next eight points and extended their lead to 28-15 by the under-eight timeout.

Arkansas maintained a roughly 50 percent shooting clip throughout the first half, even when the Providence offense began to produce points itself.

The Hogs began working inside, getting layups from Harris and Chaney. Harris also got to the free throw line, where Arkansas had a considerable advantage in the first 20 minutes.

The last few minutes of the half were sloppy for the Razorbacks, though. Arkansas hit just one field goal in the last 3:56 of the half and turned the ball over three times in that span.

A Harris free throw with 3.6 seconds left put Arkansas up 42-31 and then Joe blocked a Friar three point attempt at the buzzer to preserve the double digit lead.

At the break, Arkansas had a 22-13 rebounding advantage and 22-9 bench scoring advantage. Henderson saw 12 minutes of action in the first and turned in a four point, five rebound performance.

All nine players who saw action in the half scored at least three points each, with Chaney leading all with eight.

Providence found three points at the free throw line early in the second half before Jones hit his second three pointer of the game. Joe followed him with his 110th three pointer of the season, giving Arkansas a 52-36 lead with 15:30 remaining.

Arkansas kept the Friars at a safe distance, hitting five consecutive field goals at one point in the second half. Sills added another three pointer to his stat sheet and was followed by another deep ball from Jones.

Osabouhien converted a three point play inside the 10 minute mark and then Sills lobbed up a timeout-forcing Henderson slam to build a 67-49 lead.

Arkansas put the game on cruise control from there, staying out in front by at least 11 the rest of the way. To put a bow on the contest, Jones hit a late-shot clock three from over 25 feet from the basket.

Jones had a team high 18 points on four three pointers off the bench. Osabouhien turned in his most productive offensive performance of the season, scoring 11 points on 4-6 shooting.

The Razorbacks shot 50.9 percent as a team and 10-21 from deep. Mike Anderson’s bench outscored the Providence bench 41-16 and shot 66.7 percent from the floor across four players.

Arkansas moves on to the second round of the tournament, a rematch with Indiana on the road. The Hogs won the previous matchup in November, 73-72.

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