FAYETTEVILLE -- A close game at halftime turned into another Walton Arena rout for the Arkansas Razorbacks on Wednesday night.
The Razorbacks pulled away to beat California State University, Bakersfield 95-68 before an announced crowd of 11,327.
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville led 42-38 at halftime before dominating the second half against the Roadrunners.
"I thought the first half the game was played the way we wanted to play. A little bit slower pace," CSUB Coach Rod Barnes said. "Our guys did a really good job of defending.
"I thought in the second half their key guys stepped it up. We were not as good obviously on the defensive end, and they've got a talented group of guards."
Arkansas senior guards Jaylen Barford, Daryl Macon and Anton Beard combined to score 50 points, including 33 in the second half. Barford finished with a game-high 19 points.
"Jaylen's confidence is sky high right now," Macon said. "He feels like he's the best guard on the floor, and nobody can guard him in his head.
"That's a great way to go out there and play a game. With that confidence, he can play at a high level any night."
Macon played at a high level, too, with 16 points, 8 assists and 2 steals. Beard scored 15 points.
Barford hit 8 of 12 shots, including 3 of 5 three-pointers.
"Jaylen is a shot-maker," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "He can make some tough shots, but I think a lot of shots also come from good movement, and he's just catching and letting it fly.
"He's always been a gifted scorer, but now he's a lot more selective. You look at his numbers tonight. In the second half he really turned it up. That was good to see."
Barford hit 5 of 7 shots and scored 12 points in the second half.
"I thought we did a great job with our defensive strategy on him in the first half, but he came out the second half and his team is in need, and basically he takes over the game," Barnes said. "He made the plays that gave them some room.
"Whenever they needed a play, he made it."
Freshman guard Darious Hall scored a career-high 14 points for the Razorbacks (10-2), and senior forward Dustin Thomas had 10 points and 6 rebounds.
Arkansas freshman forward Daniel Gafford had a career-high 12 rebounds along with 6 points and 2 steals.
Freshman guard Jarkel Joiner led CSUB (7-8) with 12 points. Junior guard Rickey Holden and freshman forward Justin Davis each scored 11 points for the Roadrunners.
The Razorbacks (10-2) improved to 7-0 in Walton Arena, where their average margin of victory is 25.7 points. Their closest game at home was an 83-75 victory over Fresno State in which they led by 19 points before the Bulldogs made a late run.
Arkansas opened the second half with a 14-2 run, including eight points by Macon, to move ahead 56-40 with 15:49 left.
Macon hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Razorbacks a 48-38 lead, then capped the run with a breakaway dunk on an assist from Barford.
Beard hit two three-pointers within an 11-second span -- with the help of a steal by Barford -- during the run.
CSUB pulled within 64-53 on two free throws by senior guard Brent Wrapp with 9:11 left.
The Razorbacks responded by pushing their lead to 70-53 at the 7:50 mark as Barford hit a jumper and scored on a drive, and Beard hit two free throws.
The Roadrunners couldn't draw closer than 15 points the rest of the game.
Macon said the Razorbacks picked up their defensive intensity in the second half when they held the Roadrunners to 28.1 percent shooting (9 of 32).
"We came together and got multiple stops to start the first half," Macon said. "Our defense really went to another level in the second half."
The Razorbacks had an eight-day layoff between games since beating Oral Roberts University 104-69 on Dec. 19.
"Coming off of a break, you expect you're going to have a little sluggishness," Anderson said. "But we really turned it around in the second half."
The Razorbacks shot 51.6 percent (16 of 31) in the second half after shooting 43.2 percent (16 of 37) in the first half.
"I always tell our guys, it's about the second half," Anderson said. "If you want to be a team that plays well, play well in the second half, and we were able to do that.
"The shots we hit in the second half, we had the same shots in the first half. We just didn't knock them down. In the second half, we had a much better rhythm."
Game sketch
RECORDS Arkansas 10-2; CSUB 7-8. STARS Arkansas senior guards Jaylen Barford (19 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists), Daryl Macon (16 points, 8 assists) and Anton Beard (15 points) TURNING POINT The Razorbacks opened the second half with a 14-2 run to take a 56-40 lead with 15:49 left. KEY STAT Arkansas outscored CSUB 40-22 on points in the paint. UP NEXT Arkansas opens SEC play against No. 19 Tennessee at noon Saturday in Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Sports on 12/28/2017