Fayetteville, Arkansas – No. 20 Arkansas defeated Little Rock 79-67 on Friday night thanks to 23 points from Adou Thiero and another 21 from Boogie Fland.
After cutting Arkansas’ lead to seven points, Thiero scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half to put the Trojans away. Under Hall of Fame coach John Calipari, the Razorbacks improved to 4-1 and never fell behind.
In addition to Thiero’s second half, Arkansas held Little Rock at bay with a 7-0 run. Zvonimir Ivisic scored 10 points, while DJ Wagner scored 11.
With 18 points, Mwani Wilkinson led the Trojans.
Little Rock: Selected as preseason OVC favorites, the Trojans played a strong game against a power-conference opponent before faltering in the closing minutes.
Arkansas: As they approach the most difficult stretch of their nonconference schedule, the Razorbacks are holding their ground. Around Thanksgiving, Arkansas will play back-to-back games against Miami and No. 25 Illinois.
Little Rock narrowly trimmed the deficit to seven points in the second half before Arkansas went on a 7-0 run.
The Razorbacks committed 19 turnovers because they struggled to hold onto the ball. The Trojans were only able to score 17 points off the Razorbacks’ errors, whereas Arkansas scored 28 points off Little Rock’s 19 turnovers.
Arkansas hosts Maryland-Eastern Shore on Monday, the same day Little Rock visits Illinois.
