FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas overwhelmed Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in waves in its season-opener Friday night.
The Razorbacks’ bench sparked a big first-half rally and finished with 47 points as Arkansas took care of the Cougars 99-65 in front of 6,543 at Walton Arena.
“We had a lot of highlights,” Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. “Our guys gave our fans a good show and showed a little of what we are capable of doing.”
The Razorbacks (1-0) shot 52 percent, were 8 of 16 from three-point range and scored 33 points off 23 SIU-Edwardsville (0-1) turnovers.
The Razorbacks led 56-25 at halftime.
Arkansas’ bench set the tone early.
With the game tied 10-10, Anderson went to his bench and Mardracus Wade, Alandise Harris, Rickey Scott, Kikko Haydar and Jacorey Williams sparked a 22-4 run over a five-minute span to give the Razorbacks a 32-14 lead.
Arkansas’ starting five of Coty Clarke, Bobby Portis, Anthlon Bell, Fred Gulleyand Michael Qualls fed off that momentum and continued the scoring surge when they re-entered with just under 10 minutes left in the first half as the Razorbacks pushed the lead to 45-16.
“Our bench was big,” Anderson said. “When you get a wave of guys coming in like that, it’s a lot of wear and tear for the other team. They’re just like starters coming off the bench. That’s a big-time luxury.”
Bell, who was 5 of 6 from three-point range, hit two three-pointers in the final five minutes of the first half, and the Razorbacks closed out the half with two dunks from Qualls, including a one-handed slam over two Cougars.
“I got a great pass and after a pump-fake, it was all fair game from there,” said Qualls, who finished with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
The Cougars opened the second half on a 20-8 run and pulled within 64-45, but that was as close as they would get in the final 15 minutes.
“I thought we lost our poise in the first half,” SIU-Edwardsville Coach Lennox Forrester said. “It was 10-10 and then things went south. That’s how Arkansas plays. They are going to come out with pressure, pressure and pressure. They just keep going after you, and our guys didn’t respond very well.”
Bell’s 18 points led the Razorbacks, who had five players score 10 or more points. Harris added 15 on 5-of-7 shooting, Wade had 11 and Clarke 10.
“Our defensive pressure was really effective,” Anderson said. “I thought their guards played on their heels early and that enabled us to capitalize on their turnovers. That’s a sign of a good team to rely on defense like we did tonight.”
The Razorbacks outrebounded the Cougars 42-34.
“When we’re playing that way, a lot of good things will take place,” Anderson said.
Playing the second half with such a big lead was a challenge, Bell said, and it showed in period of sloppy play.
“We just have to keep playing hard,” he said. “We can’t pull the foot off the pedal. We have to play with the same intensity as we do in the first half.”
With its depth emerging early, Anderson agreed that playing with a big lead is something the Razorbacks have to handle.
“We need to learn how to play with a big lead because that’s going to happen,” he said. “When you have the depth that we have, and when you are playing on all cylinders, then good things are going to happen.”
Sports, Pages 21 on 11/09/2013