National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Arkansas 93, Little Rock 78
When: 4:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 4, 2021
Where: Bud Walton Arena, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Officials: # Owen Shortt, # Pat Adams, # John Hampton
Attendance: 19200

Au'Diese Toney recorded 18 points and eight rebounds and JD Notae also scored 18 points as No. 10 Arkansas held off stubborn Little Rock, 93-78 in a nonconference game Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.

Davonte Davis scored 16 points and had seven assists and Chris Lykes scored 14 points for the Razorbacks (8-0), who were playing Little Rock for the first time.

Marko Lukic scored 23 points and Isaiah Palermo had 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Little Rock (4-5), which was routed by 31 points by Colorado State on Wednesday night but was more competitive against its in-state rival despite missing three players from its regular rotation due to injury.

Still, the outcome of the game was never seriously in doubt. The Razorbacks went ahead to stay 1:33 into the game and led by as many as 17.

Lukic's straightaway three-pointer with 15:03 to go completed a 14-2 run early in the second half, trimming Arkansas' lead to 57-52, but Lykes answered with a three from the left wing for a 60-52 Razorbacks' advantage.

Davis, who had scored 14 points up until that juncture of the game, picked up his fourth foul with 12:03 to go. The Razorbacks led 66-58 at the time. But Little Rock was unable to slice into the lead with Davis on the bench.

Despite still being without forward Nikola Maric, who was averaging 12.8 points and 6.5 rebounds through six games before suffering an undisclosed injury that has kept him out of the last three contests, the Trojans managed to stay within striking distance of the Razorbacks for most of the first half.

Trey Wade's dunk put Arkansas ahead 34-24 with 6:38 to go in the half, but a pair of baskets by Palermo followed by two free throws by Lukic with 4:24 left cut Little Rock's deficit to 34-30.

But the Razorbacks closed the half by outscoring the Trojans, 15-4. Jaylin Williams scored five points during the run, which was capped by Lykes' 3-pointer with 18 seconds to go in the half.

The Razorbacks shot 19 for 31 (61.3%) from the field in the first half and finished at 56.7 percent. Little Rock shot 48.2 percent.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Little Rock   Arkansas
Marko Lukic 23 Scoring JD Notae 18
Marko Andric 6 Assists Davonte Davis 7
Isaiah Palermo 10 Rebounds Au'Diese Toney 8
Isaiah Palermo 7 Free Throws Made Chris Lykes 6
D.J. Smith 2 Steals Chris Lykes 2
Marko Lukic 1 Blocks Au'Diese Toney 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Little Rock 78 48.2 8-21 16-23 16 30 3 3 14
Arkansas 93 56.7 6-20 19-26 20 29 2 8 8