Freshman Anthony Black scored 26 points and Ricky Council IV added 15 as No. 9 Arkansas cruised to an 80-54 victory over winless Louisville on Monday in an opening-round game at the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.
Black shot 9 for 11 from the field, including 3 for 5 from 3-point range, to go along with six assists, three rebounds and two steals after scoring 18 points in the Razorbacks’ first three games of the season combined.
Council, a junior, shot 6 for 13 from the field, including three 3-pointers, while Makhel Mitchell finished with 12 points and six rebounds and Makhi Mitchell chipped in five points and six rebounds.
Arkansas (4-0) advanced to face No. 10 Creighton (5-0) in the semifinals on Tuesday night, while Louisville (0-4) will play in the consolation bracket earlier in the afternoon against No. 21 Texas Tech (3-1), which lost to Creighton 76-65 on Monday.
The Razorbacks, who led by as many as 27 points in the second half, shot 29 for 51 (56.9 percent) from the field, including 8 for 22 (36.4 percent) from 3-point range. Arkansas outrebounded the Cardinals 28-24 and scored 29 points off Louisville’s 22 turnovers.
Louisville (0-4) was led by Kamari Lands’ 13 points, while El Ellis had 11 points and seven turnovers and JJ Traynor added nine points. Jae’Lyn Withers chipped in seven points and five rebounds.
The Cardinals shot 16 for 44 (36.4 percent) from the field, including 4 for 12 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
Leading 52-42 with 10:37 remaining in the game, the Razorbacks put the game away with a 17-0 run to take a 69-42 lead following Jalen Graham’s dunk with 4:29 to go. Louisville didn’t get closer than 20 the rest of the way.
After Ellis’ 3-pointer pulled the Cardinals to within 15-13 with 8:59 left in the first half, the Razorbacks responded with a 12-1 run to take a 27-14 lead following Council’s dunk with 4:50 remaining before halftime.
Black scored 12 first-half points to lead the Razorbacks to a 36-28 advantage at the break.
–Field Level Media