Adou Thiero tallied 16 first-half points, Boogie Fland scored 21 in the second, and the No. 23 Arkansas Razorbacks routed the Oakland Golden Grizzlies 92-62 Monday night in Fayetteville, Ark.
In winning its sixth consecutive game, Arkansas (11-2) got a game-high 22 points from each player and pulled away in the second half for the 30-point victory, its third all-time in three meetings against Oakland (4-10).
In crafting his sixth 20-point showing, Thiero added six rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks.
Fland, who had one point at halftime, made 8 of 15 field goals and dished out six assists.
Karter Knox added 17 points as the Razorbacks went 35 of 58 from the field (60.3 percent) while holding Oakland to 40 percent (24 of 60).
Trevon Brazile had seven rebounds and six blocks off the bench in the win.
Coach John Calipari’s Razorbacks will open Southeastern Conference play this Saturday at the No. 1-ranked Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville.
Oakland’s Tuburu Naivalurua recorded 18 points and a game-best nine rebounds. Allen Mukeba had 17 points and six boards as the Golden Grizzlies lost for the sixth time in seven games.
In a tight opening five minutes, Oakland and Arkansas traded baskets, including a trey by Malcolm Christie gave Oakland an 11-10 lead. But Jonas Aidoo made it 12-11 Arkansas immediately after, sparking a 15-6 Razorbacks run.
But after the home side built a 25-17 lead on two free throws by Fland at 9:53, the Horizon League school battled back and tied it on a dunk by Jaylen Jones at 6:55.
Both clubs were proficient on the offensive end in a first half that ended with a 42-39 Arkansas lead, but no one was better than Thiero.
The 6-foot-8 Thiero was tenacious on both ends of the court with three rebounds, two steals and a block to go with his 16 points, while Knox scored 10 in the first half.
Arkansas hit 16 of 28 field shots (57.1 percent) in the half. Oakland’s Mukeba and Naivalurua had 12 points apiece as the team had 16 makes but missed one more shot than did Arkansas (55.2 percent).
After missing his first six shots, Fland banked in a reverse layup and hit a jumper for a 51-43 edge nearly four minutes into the second half.
Arkansas built the lead to double digits and eventually 15, at 60-45, on Fland’s jump shot at 13:13.
–Field Level Media
