FAYETTEVILLE -- Sophomore point guard Jalen Harris hit just one shot from the field for the University of Arkansas basketball team Friday night, but it was a big basket in the Razorbacks' 76-65 victory over Austin Peay.
Harris hit a three-pointer to give Arkansas a 71-62 lead with 1:48 left after the Governors cut what had been an 11-point deficit to 68-62.
Before making his third three-point basket of the season and first since Nov. 21 against Montana State, Harris had been 2 of 26 from beyond the arc.
"It kind of was the dagger," Austin Peay Coach Matt Figger said of Harris' three-pointer. "That's not what he does."
What Harris has done superbly is handle the ball. He had 7 assists and 1 turnover in 26 minutes Friday night and now has 80 assists and 14 turnovers on the season.
Harris was 1 of 5 from the field against Austin Peay and had 7 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.
"I thought he took a rhythm shot," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "He shoots the ball well in practice.
"It's just a matter of carrying it over to the game. ... It's just timing."
Anderson said he's confident Harris will shoot the ball well from the perimeter.
"It's going to happen," Anderson said. "People are backing off of him and when you don't think about it, just shoot it.
"He's got to be effective out there on the floor for us."
Scary sight
Arkansas star forward Daniel Gafford went down hard and limped off the court with 14:20 left in the game as he favored his right leg.
After getting his leg looked at by trainer Dave England on the bench, Gafford returned to the game with 13:18 left drawing cheers from the fans.
Bailey starts
Arkansas junior forward Adrio Bailey missed his first shot against Austin Peay to drop to 1 of 17 from the field over the past five games, but he scored five points in a 58-second span early in the second half -- including two dunks.
Bailey returned to the starting lineup on Friday night after coming off the bench the previous game against Texas State when freshman Reggie Chaney started in his place. He played just eight minutes against Austin Peay, but Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said he was effective.
"Adrio got in foul trouble, but his presence out there on the floor was very evident," Anderson said. "Defensively he was really getting after it."
Bailey has started 11 of 12 games. Four Razorbacks have started every game: Daniel Gafford, Jalen Harris, Mason Jones and Isaiah Joe.
Phillips helps
Arkansas freshman guard Jordan Phillips had 4 points and 1 steal in 8 minutes off the bench.
"I thought he gave us some great minutes," Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson said. "He'll build on that."
Short stay
Austin Peay Coach Matt Frigger was a Arkansas staff member for a few months in 2007 with Coach John Pelphrey.
Frigger worked for Pelphrey at South Alabama, and when Pelphrey was hired as Arkansas' coach in April of 2007, Frigger followed him to Fayetteville as the Razorbacks' director of basketball operations from April to June.
Frigger left Arkansas after three months to become an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Kansas State for Coach Frank Martin. He then worked for Martin at South Carolina before being hired as Austin Peay's coach for the 2016-17 season.
69-4 under Mike
Arkansas improved to 69-4 in non-conference games in Walton Arena during Coach Mike Anderson's eight seasons, including 7-2 this season.
Friday night was the Razorbacks' last non-conference home game this season. They play one more non-conference game at Texas Tech on Jan. 26 in the Big 12-SEC Challenge.
Vs. Governors
Arkansas improved to 4-0 against Austin Peay with all of the games being played in December.
The Razorbacks previously beat the Governors 68-63 on Dec. 30, 1983, 89-80 on Dec. 17, 2008, and 99-62 on Dec. 3, 2016.
Streak breakers
Arkansas stopped Austin Peay's winning streak at six games after stopping Texas State's eight-game winning streak when the Razorbacks beat the Bobcats' 73-70 last Saturday.
Sports on 12/29/2018