STILLWATER, Okla. -- Jawun Evans broke free from an Arkansas double team on the sideline, dribbled down the baseline and rifled a pass to Lindy Waters at the top of the key.
Waters was prepared to attempt a wide-open 3-pointer, but the halftime horn sounded before he could.
The sequence turned into a rare stop for Arkansas on Saturday in one what will go down as one of the Razorbacks' least-effective defensive efforts in more than two decades.
Arkansas allowed 59 first-half points in a 99-71 Oklahoma State victory, the most it has given up in an opening half since Alabama scored 60 in a 1996 meeting, according to HogStats.com.
"We played on our heels," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "We had some moments, but for the most part, they did what they wanted to do."
Anderson had an explanation for why the Hogs were on their heels.
"The fouls that took place, that occurred, I thought it put us off on our defense," Anderson said. "Our guys couldn't even get in the same sphere with their guys. That to me was the most disappointing thing. They didn't let us play."
The Hogs were called for 26 fouls by a Big 12 crew, tied for their fourth-highest total in 21 games this year. At one point in the first half, Oklahoma State had 17 free-throw attempts to 1 for Arkansas.
The Cowboys led 43-22 at that point.
"It affected us a little bit because we don't play like that in practice and especially in our league, we can touch a little bit," Arkansas guard Jaylen Barford said.
Most everything was clicking for Oklahoma State during a first-half onslaught when the Cowboys averaged 1.553 points per possession, a number surpassing national leader UCLA's 1.217 mark for the season. Oklahoma State finished the day averaging 1.394.
The Cowboys pushed the pace and bested Arkansas at its own game, beating the Hogs 13-4 in fast-break points in the half and 18-6 in the game.
"Our defense not allowing them to score allowed us to get in transition, where we're really good," Oklahoma State Coach Brad Underwood said. "We got easy baskets. That eases the burden of playing in the half court against them when they do score."
The Cowboys shot 54.3 percent from the floor and hit 5 of 10 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes. Evans, projected as a first-round pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by ESPN, was the catalyst.
The sophomore point guard finished with 16 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds and 1 turnover. He had 12 of his points and five of the assists in the first half, routinely breaking down the Arkansas defense and either scoring or setting up his teammates for open looks, which they knocked down more often than not.
"When you have a guy like Evans who can distribute and make plays for everybody else, that's the thing I like about him," Anderson said. "He's very unselfish. He gets his team going."
Evans made 3 of 4 foul shots in the first half, one of five Cowboys to attempt multiple free throws in the opening half. Four Arkansas players picked up two first-half fouls and Daryl Macon had 3 as the Cowboys ended the half 16 of 19 at the line compared to the Razorbacks' 6 of 7.
Oklahoma State ended the day 24 of 29 from the line. Arkansas was 18 of 23.
Six of the Cowboys' first-half free throws came after Oklahoma State grabbed offensive rebounds, another area that hurt the Razorbacks on the defensive end. Arkansas entered the game having outrebounded its opponents in four consecutive games, but Oklahoma State had its way on the boards Saturday, especially in the disastrous first half, when it outrebounded Arkansas 24-12.
Arkansas yielded 11 offensive rebounds, which led to 14 second-chance points for Oklahoma State. The Cowboys finished with 17 offensive boards and outrebounded Arkansas 44-29, tying Kentucky for the largest positive rebounding margin against the Hogs this season.
"You just had to be more physical tonight and be more mentally ready for the game," Barford said.
Sports on 01/29/2017