PORTLAND, Ore. — Darius Acuff Jr. had 36 points, Meleek Thomas added 19, and fourth-seeded Arkansas burst 12th-seeded High Point’s tournament bubble, pulling away late for a 94-88 victory over the Panthers in the NCAA Tournament West Region on Saturday.
Acuff scored nine of the Razorbacks’ last 11 points as they broke from a tie at 83-83 in the final three minutes to overcome a 30-point performance from High Point guard Rob Martin.
Acuff had two layups and a 3-pointer in the next two minutes for a 90-83 lead, and High Point never was closer than four.
“Just trying to win,” Acuff said of taking the game over late. “Just made the right play. Anything to come out with a win, that’s what I had to do. It is all about the right timing, and that was the right time.”
Billy Richmond III had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Malique Ewin had 14 points and 12 boards for the Razorbacks (28-8), who have won seven in a row and nine of 10. Ewin’s two free throws with 44.4 seconds made it 92-85.
Cam’Ron Fletcher had 25 points and was two rebounds short of a third straight double-double and Terry Anderson had 15 points for High Point (31-5), which had a 15-game winning streak broken after posting the first NCAA Tournament win in school history Thursday.
Panthers Game 1 hero Chase Johnston, whose layup beat Wisconsin, had nine points on 3 of 8 shooting from distance.
Acuff was 11 of 22 from the field and made 11 of 13 free throws. He had six assists.
The Razorbacks, who have advanced to the Sweet 16 in each of coach John Calipari’s two seasons, will meet the winner of Sunday’s Arizona-Utah State game in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday.
“That’s happened a few times,” Calipari said of Acuff’s heroics. “He’s done it. I’ll even ask, ‘Do you want a screen or do you want open court, tell me what you want.”
Martin was one short of his career scoring high and had five assists before fouling out late.
Martin, Fletcher and Johnston had three 3-pointers apiece. Johnston has made 72 field goals this season, 71 of them 3s.
Johnston turned down a layup and drifted outside for his second three of the first half to give High Point a short-lived 42-41 lead with 17 seconds left half. Acuff followed with two free throws for a 43-42 edge at the half.
Fletcher had 14 points and Martin 12 at halftime for High Point. Acuff led the Razorbacks with 13 points before intermission.
–Jack Magruder, Field Level Media
