Arkansas

Arkansas basketball survives late scare, knocks off Georgia

Published

2 years ago

February 10, 2024

Arkansas basketball survives late scare, knocks off Georgia

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A sloppy second half nearly doomed the Arkansas basketball team Saturday against Georgia, but the Hogs (12-11, 3-7SEC) found a way to grind out their third conference victory of the season.

The Bulldogs (14-10, 4-7) erased a 10-point second half deficit thanks to a 1-3-1 zone defense and the Razorbacks trailed with less than two minutes remaining, but a clutch pass from Davonte Davis to a wide-open Makhi Mitchell for an easy layup with 54 seconds on the clock gave Arkansas a lead it would not relinquish.

Davis, who made his return to the program Saturday, also made a key free throw that gave Arkansas a three-point lead later on inside the final minute.

Here are three observations from the Arkansas’ win.

Arkansas basketball goes small

The Razorbacks started the game with four guards, and outside of a brief stretch midway through the first half, Eric Musselman stuck with a smaller lineup. The decision paid off.

Arkansas trailed 19-15 with 9:18 in the first half when Musselman sent Tramon Mark in to replace center Makhi Mitchell. The Hogs closed the half on a 19-10 run, hanging tough on the boards despite the lack of size.

El Ellis, Keyon Menifield Jr., Davis and Mark played the entire stretch, with Mitchell and Jalen Graham sharing duties as the lone center. That four-guard combination also played a majority of the second half.

Ellis went from logging zero minutes in two-straight games to playing a key role against Georgia, scoring 15 points to go with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. He also made a massive corner three-pointer with 1:42 remaining to give Arkansas a 72-70 lead.

It’s been an inconsistent season for the Louisville transfer, but Saturday was a positive. Ellis made shots, crashed the glass and only committed one turnover. Menifield also scored 15 points, while Mark had 13. Graham and Mitchell combined for 25 points and 8 rebounds.

But for all the good from this four-guard lineup, it struggled to take care of the ball against Georgia’s zone. The Hogs survived despite committing 8 sloppy second-half turnovers. Thankfully, most of those giveaways were not in a live-ball setting that allowed Georgia to get out in transition.

Three-point defense makes massive turnaround

Opposing teams had shot 47% from three in Arkansas’ last five games. Musselman has bemoaned the three-point defense all season, but the Hogs corralled Georgia from deep on Saturday.

More: Momentum stifled as Arkansas basketball gets blown out by LSU

More: Davonte Davis rejoins Arkansas basketball team after stepping away from the program

The Bulldogs missed their first 11 shots from long-range and finished the evening shooting just 22% on threes. Georgia made a few key deep shots in the closing minutes, but the overall defensive improvement played a massive difference.

Hogs flip the script on turnovers

Giveaways were a huge issue in the Razorbacks’ loss to Georgia earlier this season, with the Bulldogs scoring 25 points off 15 Arkansas turnovers.

But it was Arkansas who caused the havoc on Saturday, scoring 21 points off 14 Georgia turnovers. The guard-heavy lineup injected some added speed and helped preventing dribble penetration.

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Arkansas

Arkansas Takes Down UAPB, 101-49, on Elementary Day

Published

12 hours ago

November 7, 2025

Press Room

Arkansas Takes Down UAPB, 101-49, on Elementary Day

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas women’s basketball improved to 2-0 after a 101-49 win over UAPB (1-1) on Friday morning inside Bud Walton Arena.

The Hogs hosted their 15th Elementary Day game with nearly 70 schools and over 10,000 students from the Northwest Arkansas area. The crowd of 13,032 is the second largest for women’s basketball in Bud Walton Arena.

First Quarter – 24-13

Arkansas controlled the tip and Maria Anais Rodriguez scored the first points of the game.
An and-1 for Taleyah Jones put the Hogs up 7-2 early.
UAPB cut into the Hogs’ lead with a pair of threes.
Jenna Lawrence pushed the Arkansas lead to 10 points with back-to-back threes, her first of the season.
The Hogs ended the period with three straight makes from the field and an 11-point lead

Second Quarter – 44-23

Lawrence stayed hot with another pair of threes to stay perfect from beyond the arc (4-4) and bring her point total to 15.
Both teams went on lengthy droughts to end the quarter. The Lions didn’t score for the final 3:11 of the quarter and Arkansas was scoreless in the last 2:11.
UAPB shot 22.2% from the field in the second quarter and Arkansas extended its lead to 21 points by halftime.

Third Quarter – 77-41

Emily Robinson opened the quarter with a pair of threes.
The Hogs went on a 13-2 run over 3:11 and forced a timeout with back-to-back threes from Taleyah Jones and Bonnie Deas .
The Lions entered another scoring drought 3+ minute scoring drought.
Lawrence passed her previous career high of 21 with 17 seconds left in the quarter, her fifth three-pointer of the game.
Arkansas finished the quarter 4-4 from the field and made 8 of its last 9.

Fourth Quarter – 101-49

The Hogs opened the fourth with another three, this time from Deas, who entered double figures for the second straight game.
Arkansas’ defense held UAPB to just 8 points in the fourth.
Freshman Harmonie Ware exploded for 13 points and went 5-5 from the field in the final 10 minutes.

Game Notes

Lawrence finished with a career high 26 points and tied her career high with 5 threes made.
Deas picked up her first collegiate double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. She also led the team with six assists.
Robinson scored in double figures for the second straight game. She had 11 in the opener against Louisiana Tech and finished with 15 against UAPB.
The Razorbacks’ 15 three pointers were the most in a game since the 2021-22 season, when they had 15 at Alabama on Jan. 20, 2022.
The Hogs shot nearly 50% from the field (33-68, 49%) compared to UAPB’s 29% mark (19-66).
Arkansas improved to 14-1 in Elementary Day games and won its 14th straight Elementary Day game.

Up Next

Arkansas will host Central Arkansas on Monday, November 10 at 8:00 p.m. The game will be televised live on SEC Network with Sam Gore (play-by-play) and Tamika Catchings (analyst) on the call.

For more information on Arkansas women’s basketball, follow @RazorbackWBB on social media.

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Arkansas

Wade Dunn endorsed by family of late Arkansas state Sen. Gary Stubblefield for his District 26 seat | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Published

1 day ago

November 6, 2025

Press Room

Wade Dunn endorsed by family of late Arkansas state Sen. Gary Stubblefield for his District 26 seat | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Michael R. Wickline

mwickline@adgnewsroom.com

Mike Wickline covers state politics, and he has covered the state Legislature for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette since November 2000. He previously spent several years covering the Idaho Legislature for the Lewiston Morning Tribune.

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