Jaylin Williams scored a career-high 19 points and added nine rebounds, and Arkansas rallied with a sizzling second half in a 75-59 Southeastern Conference win over South Carolina Tuesday night in Fayetteville, Ark.
The Razorbacks (13-5, 3-3) trailed by seven points to start the second half, but sprinted to an 18-1 run in the opening 7:23 that left the Gamecocks (10-7, 1-4) down 51-41 and reeling as they battled to find any offense.
Team-leading scorer JD Notae tallied 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks for Arkansas. Au’Diese Toney totaled 13 points and eight rebounds.
Stanley Umude had 12 points and six rebounds as Arkansas won its third straight to go to 10-1 at home.
The Razorbacks connected on 27 of 33 free throws and forced 18 turnovers. They outscored their opponent 42-19 in the second half and moved the overall lead in the series to 22-15.
However, Arkansas’ streak of 1,092 straight games with a 3-pointer came to an end as the team went 0 for 11.
South Carolina’s second-half offensive woes caused it to lose its third straight overall, all in conference play.
Inserted into the lineup as the starting point guard, Devin Carter provided a big lift to the Gamecocks, producing 20 points and six rebounds. James Reese V posted 10 points.
The Gamecocks made 20 shots on 59 attempts (33.9 percent) and were successful on just half of their 24 free throws.
With South Carolina big man Wildens Leveque picking up his second foul and headed to the bench just 1:33 into the contest, the Razorbacks started capitalizing on easy buckets in the lane.
A trey by Reese put South Carolina up 12-11 at the 5-minute mark, but the visitors soon went on a 1-for-11 skid on from the field and Arkansas led 21-17 with under nine minutes left.
But the home side struggled shooting the ball, starting the game shooting just 6 of 23 (26.1 percent), and Carter’s long 3 put the 12-point underdog Gamecocks up 40-33 at the half.
–Field Level Media