FAYETTEVILLE -- Dustin Thomas had his best game as an Arkansas Razorback in Monday's 89-76 victory over Mount St. Mary's at Walton Arena.
Thomas hit 6 of 7 shots, scored 13 points and added 5 rebounds.
"Coach just told me to come out with a lot of energy," Thomas said. "I had a pretty bad game last game, getting in foul trouble. He just told me to come out with some energy and just do me, play my game."
A junior transfer from Colorado, Thomas was 1 of 5 from the floor and had 2 rebounds, 5 points and 4 fouls in Arkansas' 85-71 loss at Minnesota last week.
"I just told him that game at Minnesota wasn't him," Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson said. "That wasn't very typical of him. ... He's skilled. He can fix a lot of things on defense. He's on the front of our press. He can rebound the basketball.
"He was breaking the press tonight. He did a good job of flashing in the gaps, and our guys did a good job of finding him."
Thomas' contributions included his first three-pointer in his first try at Arkansas. Thomas also added an assist and a steal and did not have a turnover.
Anderson said Mount St. Mary's focus on Moses Kingsley helped free Thomas.
"They were doubling up on Moses so it's going to leave him open, especially if the ball is reversed," Anderson said. "He has a nice touch. I felt he just felt comfortable with it and was in rhythm."
Slow down, Moses
Moses Kingsley, the SEC preseason player of the year, finished with 13 rebounds, 9 points on 3-of-8 shooting, 4 assists, 1 blocked shot and 3 turnovers in a team-high 26 minutes.
The senior center went 0 for 2 in the first half while scoring one point,and his first basket came on a tip-in with 9:35 remaining.
Guard Daryl Macon was asked if Kingsley was showing signs of frustration at not getting a lot of touches.
"We're going to give it to him whenever he wants it," Macon said. "At the same time, when you've got guards that are scorers, that are known scorers, there's going to be some times he doesn't get it.
"I think Moses just can't let that get to him. We're going to feed him the ball whenever he wants it. He's the best big man in the SEC. So I think if Moses is frustrated right now, he has to slow down and let the game come to him."
New lineup
Coach Mike Anderson changed his starting lineup for the first time Monday, inserting guards Manny Watkins and Anton Beard in place of Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon, who were the team leaders in turnovers with 12 and 10, respectively, entering the game. Dusty Hannahs, Moses Kingsley and Dustin Thomas have started all five games.
Beard started 16 of 35 games as a freshman and 1 of 23 games last year. Watkins had previously made 9 career starts, all as a junior last season.
Turnover turnaround
The Razorbacks had turnovers by Moses Kingsley and Dusty Hannahs on their first two possessions Monday, but they cut down the sloppy ball handling drastically after that.
Arkansas, which had 21 turnovers in its 85-71 loss to Minnesota last week, finished with a season-low seven, far below its average of 15.5 per game.
After they had five turnovers in the first half, the Hogs went the first 13:46 of the second half without committing another until Anton Beard passed out of bounds at the left block when he was expecting a cut from Dustin Thomas.
Second unit
A wave of four substitutes -- Jaylen Barford, Daryl Macon, Arlando Cook and Trey Thompson -- along with starter Manny Watkins fueled Arkansas' first substantial run.
With Mount St. Mary's ahead 7-5, Watkins and Cook hit layups, Macon made a three-pointer from the right wing, then Barford converted two layups, including a run out after his steal from Junior Robinson, for an 11-0 run over a span of 3:08 to give the Razorbacks a 16-7 lead.
Going Long
Mount St. Mary's guard Elijah Long got off to a rousing start with two three-pointers and 17 points in the first half on 6-of-13 shooting, more than his team-high season average of 15.5 points per game.
The 6-0, 180-pounder from Mississauga, Ontario, went 0 for 4 in the second half and finished with 24 points with the help of 10-of-10 free-throw shooting.
Tip ins
• The announced attendance was 4,256, the lowest of the year behind the 4,270 at the Razorbacks' 90-65 victory over Southern Illinois on Nov. 14.
• Five Razorbacks combined for 8 of 14 on three-pointers, including two apiece from Anton Beard, Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon. Dustin Thomas and CJ Jones made one each, while Dusty Hannahs was 0 for 5.
• Arkansas is 50-2 in nonconference games at Walton Arena under Mike Anderson.
• Moses Kingsley tied Manny Watkins with a team-high four assists, a career high for the 6-10 senior.
• Arkansas led for 35:10 of game time compared to 3:05 for Mount St. Mary's. The game was tied for 1:45.
8 of 9
Mount St. Mary's, based in Emmitsburg, Md., a suburb of Baltimore, was playing its eighth consecutive road game in a span of 18 days to open the season.
The Mountaineers' only victory was 78-76 in overtime at George Mason on Nov. 18 They will conclude their season-opening road swing on Dec. 3 at Loyola before their home opener against Maryland-Baltimore County.
Teamwork
One of Arkansas' most industrious scores came with teamwork involving three players.
Early in the second half, Trey Thompson crashed the boards to rebound a miss by Dusty Hannahs. Thompson, who was well guarded deep in the lane, made a quick pass to Manny Watkins a few feet away up the left side of the lane. Watkins immediately re-directed to Anton Beard, who was cutting through the lane. Beard had defenders on him, but he pulled off a double-pump scoop layup for the basket and a 55-44 Arkansas lead.
Sports on 11/29/2016