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Hogs' depth grinds Cougars down

Arkansas center Moses Kingsley celebrates during the second half of a game against Houston on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016, in Fayetteville.
Arkansas center Moses Kingsley celebrates during the second half of a game against Houston on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016, in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas was struggling to put Houston away Tuesday night in Walton Arena, clinging to a two-point lead with six minutes left.

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Then the Cougars hit a wall, and the Razorbacks pulled away to win 84-72 before an announced crowd of 6,678.

"The way we play is wear and tear, and you can tell when the run is coming," Arkansas junior guard Daryl Macon said. "You can look at your opponent and tell that he's tired or he feels like giving up.

"We saw it in their eyes that they thought about giving up. That's when the run came. We didn't look back after that."

The Razorbacks outscored the Cougars 14-3 over a 4:13 span to put Arkansas ahead 77-64 with 1:42 left.

"I just thought we had some defensive breakdowns, but give Arkansas credit," Houston Coach Kelvin Sampson said. "They made some tough shots, too."

Five Razorbacks scored during their late run as Arkansas held Houston to 1-of-9 shooting from the field.

"The defense was what got us stops," Arkansas senior guard Dusty Hannahs said. "The whole first half they were really killing us getting to the rim, and we stopped that and those quick hitters they were getting and made them work for shots.

"That ultimately was why we ran away with it."

Macon and Hannahs each scored 17 points to lead the Razorbacks (7-1).

Arkansas senior center Moses Kingsley had 14 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.

Junior forward Dustin Thomas had 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists for the Razorbacks; junior guard Anton Beard had 9 points, 2 assists and 2 steals; and senior guard Manny Watkins had 6 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists without a turnover.

Eleven Razorbacks played between 30 and 7 minutes, 10 scored and 10 had an assist.

"I think their strength is always going to be their depth," said Sampson, who is 4-2 against the Razorbacks, including 4-1 when he was at Oklahoma. "It's never really an individual player.

"I don't think that they have one player that really stands out. They have a lot of good players."

Senior guard Rob Gray led Houston (7-2) with 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field. Senior guard Damyeon Dotson had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Cougars, and sophomore guard Galen Robinson Jr. added 14 points.

"With the type of players Kelvin has, they always are going to be in the game," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "They're capable because of the three-point shot, and they have guys that can get in the lane and make things happen.

"But the difference I thought in this game was our bench play. I thought our bench came in and really made them extend a lot of energy in that first half."

Houston outscored Arkansas 24-9 over the last 8:55 of the first half to take a 35-34 lead, but Anderson said the Razorbacks' depth made the Cougars struggle to maintain their level of play in the second half.

The Cougars shot 40 percent in the second half (14 of 35) while the Razorbacks shot 59.3 percent (16 of 27).

"I thought we executed," Anderson said. "Their defense was the same as it was in the first half, but I thought we made the extra pass.

"We made a big-time effort of really attacking and got some of their guys in foul trouble and were able to get to the free-throw line."

The Razorbacks hit 15 of 21 free throws in the second half and finished 18 of 24.

"It's a game we could have won," Sampson said. "But you have to play a little bit better defense. We have to get a little bit more production out of our bigs in a game like this.

"But two good teams. We'll get better as we go. I think Arkansas will, too."

Houston starting junior forward Devin Davis, who came into the game averaging 12.7 points and 7.4 rebounds, played just three minutes because of an injury he suffered to his right hand in the first half. He didn't have any points or rebounds.

"He's a guy that can get 10, 11 rebounds in a game like this because he's 235 pounds and he's athletic," Sampson said. "We couldn't lose him. It would have been better to lose one of our guards than him.

"We needed Davis in that game tonight. But you know, that's just the way it goes. We still had the lead in the second half."

Arkansas took the lead for good, 45-43, on Kingsley's jump shot with 15:49 left.

"We were down at halftime, but it didn't rattle our guys," Anderson said. "Our guys came out and the first five minutes of the second half and really got after it."

The last six minutes of the game, too.

Game sketch

RECORDS Houston 6-2, Arkansas 7-1

STARS Arkansas guards Daryl Macon (17 points, 3 of 4 three-pointers) and Dusty Hannahs (17 points, 6-of-11 shooting) and center Moses Kingsley (14 points, 9 rebounds)

TURNING POINT Arkansas pulled away from a two-point lead with a 14-3 run to lead 77-64 with 1:42 left.

KEY STAT Arkansas outscored Houston 34-14 off the bench and won 39-31 on the boards.

UP NEXT Arkansas hosts to North Florida on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

Sports on 12/07/2016

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