Arkansas scored the final seven points of the game to beat Cincinnati and remain unbeaten Tuesday night.
Au’Diese Toney knocked down a pair of free throws with 1:36 remaining for the last of 11 second-half lead changes in the No. 13 Razorbacks’ 73-67 win over the Bearcats in the 2021 Hall of Fame Classic championship game.
Not only did it improve Arkansas to 5-0 on the season, but the victory captured the UA’s first early-season tournament title since winning the 2006 Old Spice Classic.
Neither team led by more than six points at any point of the matchup inside the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., and Cincinnati actually took a 30-26 lead into halftime, meaning the Razorbacks have now won seven of their last nine games when trailing at the break.
Unsurprisingly, the back-and-forth game came down to the wire. Clinging to a 68-67 lead after Toney’s free throws, which were the result of a fast break off a JD Notae steal, Arkansas grabbed three straight offensive rebounds before Chris Lykes was finally fouled with 21 seconds left.
Just as he did the previous night against Kansas State, he made both free throws to push the lead to three. The Bearcats had an opportunity to tie it up and send the game to overtime, but Jaylin Williams stepped in front of a driving Mike Saunders Jr. and took a charge to essentially seal the victory.
“I think Cincinnati is really, really, really good,” head coach Eric Musselman said. “They’re well coached, they understand their roles, they go deep into their bench, they compete. I mean, that was a great basketball game from a spectator standpoint unless you were just worried about cosmetic offensive play.”
Lykes iced the victory with another couple of free throws and Williams tacked on another point by going 1 of 2 at the line with 1 seconds left to help Arkansas cover the 5-point spread.
Here are a few other key takeaways from the victory…
MVP Performance
Leading the team in scoring both nights, it wasn’t particularly surprising that Toney took home the MVP award for the 2021 Hall of Fame Classic. However, his impact on the game extended far beyond the offensive end of the floor.
“The right player got the MVP for the two games because we did not call one single play for Au’Diese,” Musselman said. “He had 19 points, 9 rebounds and literally took their best player completely and utterly out of the game.”
That was not an exaggeration by Musselman. Junior guard Jeremiah Davenport came into the game averaging 13.8 points and shooting 40.6 percent from beyond the arc, including a big 19-point effort against Illinois the night before.
Against the Razorbacks, though, he was held scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting and posted a minus-15 in the 22 minutes he was on the floor. Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller took some responsibility for that, but also credited Toney’s defense.
“They put Au’Diese Toney on him and he is probably one of the best wing defenders in the country,” Miller said. “He made it difficult for him to catch and shoot. Obviously Au’Diese Toney is a great on-the-ball defender and we tried to free him up, but I have got to do a better job as a coach because he is one of our best offensive players.”
Offensively, Toney followed up his 14-point performance against Kansas State by scoring 19 against the Bearcats. He made 6 of 9 shots and was 7 of 8 from the free throw line.
One reason he seems to be flourishing with the Razorbacks is because he doesn’t have to worry about creating as much as he did at Pitt. Toney told reporters that he has been free to move and find spots without the ball in his hands, allowing him to be more opportunistic.
