FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Razorbacks (8-4) avoided another upset loss inside Bud Walton Arena with a 83-73 win over a tough Abilene Christian team on Thursday night.
The Hoop Hogs trailed by seven at halftime, but they came out with a new-look starting lineup in the second half that featured Tramon Mark and the newly-eligible Keyon Menifield. Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman saw something work and elected to play primarily small-ball with four guards on the court for most of the final 20 minutes.
Mark and Khalif Battle both heated up on the offensive end while the Hogs stacked up defensive stops to pull away by the under-8 minute media timeout in the second half.
By that point, the Razorbacks had outscored the Wildcats by 18 points and Mark was up to a game-high 22 points. Mark finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds and two assists, and it was the fifth time in 12 games that he's led the team in scoring.
Forward Chandler Lawson nearly recorded a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds, while Menifield did it all with 10 points, six rebounds and two assists. Battle added 18 points and four boards.
Arkansas shot 51.9% from the field and 46.7% from three, plus it won the rebounding battle, 45-34. The Razorbacks did have 17 turnovers and just two steals, compared to Abilene Christian's eight turnovers and 10 steals.
Here are the highlights from Arkansas' win on Thursday, which was its eighth of the season.
Box Score
Trevon Brazile with the block
Chandler Lawson knocks down the three
Makhi Mitchell joins the block party
Brazile with the flush
Keyon Menifield finds Lawson for the slam
Khalif Battle knocks down a corner three to cut the deficit to three
Battle with another three from way downtown to put the Hogs up by four
Mark's three gives him 25 points
