Billy Richmond III scored a season-high 21 points and made a career-high three 3-pointers, and No. 19 Arkansas slipped past Central Arkansas 79-66 in Fayetteville, Ark. on Friday.
Central Arkansas cut Arkansas’ 18-point lead to six before the Razorbacks pulled away for good.
Jeremiah Wilkinson had 14 points and four 3-pointers, Jordan Smith Jr. scored 12 points and Miikka Muurinen added 11 for the Razorbacks, who are 3-1 entering a meeting with Indiana in the Bad Boy Mowers series Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
Harrison Beauchamp had 14 points and four 3-pointers and Luke Moore scored 12 points for the Bears (2-2), who were picked to win the UAC in a preseason coaches’ poll after winning the Atlantic Sun last year.
The Razorbacks made a season-high nine treys in 23 attempts, and Wilkinson’s third 3-pointer gave Arkansas their largest second-half lead at 53-35 four minutes in before the Bears rallied.
Cole McCormick’s 3-pointer brought the Bears within 66-57, and Beauchamp capped a 9-0 run on a layup to make it 66-60 with 5:13 remaining.
Wilkinson’s fourth three pushed the Arkansas lead to 71-62 with four minutes left, and Richmond’s fast-break dunk capped a 7-0 run for a 75-62 edge.
Richmond, who had 15 points in the first half, was 8 of 12 from the field, 3 of 3 from distance. He added nine rebounds and four assists.
The Bears, who used a four-guard lineup, were 15 for 30 from the field in the second half.
Arkansas reserve Davion Thompson, a freshman point guard, had seven points and eight assists. He has 15 assists and one turnover in the last two games.
The Razorbacks 51.8 percent from the field and 54.8 in the first half when they built their first 18-point lead.
Richmond had eight points on two 3-pointers and a pair of layups and Muurinen converted two dunks during a 20-2 run when the Hogs took control for a 26-9 lead with 9:37 left in the first half.
Thompson hit a 3-pointer and Richmond and Smith added layups as the Razorbacks built an 18-point lead, and Wilkinson made two 3-pointers in the final minute of the half for a 43-27 lead.
–Field Level Media
