Following a competitive first half, the No. 11 Arkansas Razorbacks coasted to a 99-58 victory over San Jose State on Saturday at Bud Walton Arena.
Star freshman Nick Smith Jr. made his first start as a Hog, and he did not disappoint. The five-star McDonald's All-American scored 16 points and added five assists and one rebound in his 24 minutes played.
Trevon Brazile added a game-high 23 points, five rebounds and two assists in the contest and Ricky Council IV had 17 points, three rebounds and one assist of his own.
It was the Jalen Graham show down the stretch, as he recorded 11 points, six rebounds and one assist in the final 13 minutes of the game.
Arkansas shot 75.9% as a team in the second half, missing just seven shots. The 99 points were by far a season-high for the team.
The Hogs forced 18 turnovers and held the Spartans to just 40.4% shooting from the field.
Here is a recap of Arkansas' seventh win of the season.
Arkansas opened the scoring up with a lob from Black to Makhi Mitchell, who laid it in softly. Smith knocked down his first basket as a Hog with a corner three to make it 5-2.
The Spartans gained a 9-7 advantage after knocking down their first three of the game right out of the under-16 timeout.
Council picked off a pass and sprinted down the court for a transition slam that put the Hogs back in front, 11-9. A pair of free throws from Omari Moore tied the game, but Black found a driving Brazile, who converted a layup and free throw on the 3-point play to put the Hogs ahead again.
Brazile converted another 3-point play right out of the under-12 timeout to put the Hogs up 17-11.
A hook-and-hold was called on Brazile and Sage Tolbert III hit one charity shot followed by a hook shot from Ibrahima Diallo that trimmed the Arkansas lead to 17-16. Diallo found the bottom of the net again on the next possession to put the Spartans up.
Smith countered with a mid-range jumper, and after Alvaro Cardenas drilled the Spartans' first three of the game, Smith hit another soft jumper to tie it at 21-21.
A pair of baskets, including a three from Tolbert, put the Spartans up 28-24 with 4:24 left in the first half. Arkansas defense wasn't playing as aggressive as it normally does, and that led to them trailing at the under-4 minute timeout.
Smith drilled his second three of the game out of the break to put the Hogs up 29-28, but Moore countered with a deep shot of his own. Black got in on the 3-pointer party right after to give Arkansas a 32-31 lead and force an SJSU timeout.
The Spartans hit a pair of baskets and grabbed two steals in the final 30 seconds to trim the Arkansas lead to three, but Council drew a foul and hit two free throws to make it 40-35 Hogs at the break.
Both teams opened the second half going shot for shot, but Council broke the back-and-forth with a 3-point play on a tough off-balance shot to give Arkansas an 8-point lead.
Smith drilled his third deep shot of the game to put the Hogs up by 11 at the first media break of the second half.
Brazile came out of the timeout and went on a quick 5-0 run by himself to put the writing on the wall for a Razorback victory. A high-arcing three from Council gave the Hogs a 64-48 lead at the under-12 timeout.
The next field goal of the game came on a thunderous slam from Council, who stole the ball right back and allowed for a 3-point play from Black.
By the 7:46 mark, the Hogs were leading by 25 points and had converted on a pair of alley-oops and an aggressive dunk from Brazile over the previous 90 seconds.
Freshman Derrian Ford checked in at the 7:15 mark and Joseph Pinion came in with 5:16 remaining and immediately hit a three to put the Hogs up by 30 points.
Walk-on players Cade Arbogast and Lawson Blake went to check in and the fans at Bud Walton Arena erupted. Arbogast hit a three to put the Hogs up by 39 and it resulted in the loudest crowd pop of the season at Bud Walton Arena.
Arbogast attempted another three on the final shot of the game, but it didn't drop to put the Hogs over the century mark.
