Notae's 28 points lead Arkansas to win over Penn

Arkansas guard JD Notae (1) shoots over Pennsylvania guard Jonah Charles (2) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)
Arkansas guard JD Notae (1) shoots over Pennsylvania guard Jonah Charles (2) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)

FAYETTEVILLE — JD Notae scored 28 points and led No. 13 Arkansas to a 76-60 victory over Penn on Sunday at Bud Walton Arena. 

Notae scored 16 points in the second half and hit a shot just before the halftime buzzer to start a run that helped the Razorbacks (6-0) take control. Notae made 13 of 24 shot attempts, but missed all six of his tries from three-point range. 

His jumper in the paint to end the first half gave Arkansas a 37-26 halftime lead. The Razorbacks opened the second half on a 14-3 run that included six points apiece from Connor Vanover and Stanley Umude. Notae’s fast-break layup put the Razorbacks ahead 51-29 with 15:19 remaining. 

The Quakers (3-6) never got closer than 10 points the rest of the game. 

Umude scored 19 points for Arkansas and Au’Diese Toney scored 12 points in 19 minutes. Toney was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul in the opening minute of the second half after he made forcible contact to the head of Penn’s Jonah Charles. 

Toney’s two-handed shove to Charles’ face was in retaliation to Charles grazing Toney’s face with an elbow that appeared to be incidental. Charles was assessed a technical foul on the exchange. 

Arkansas made 32 of 63 field goal attempts, but struggled to shoot from beyond the perimeter again. The Razorbacks made 3 of 17 shots from three-point range — their third consecutive game with only three made three-pointers. 

Most of Arkansas’ points came in the paint, where the Razorbacks outscored the Quakers 48-22. Arkansas out-rebounded Penn 44-28 and scored 16 second-chance points on 11 offensive rebounds. 

Notae and Jaylin Williams each had nine rebounds for the Razorbacks. 

Penn made 21 of 57 shot attempts and was led by Clark Slajchert’s 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting. Lucas Monroe added 14 points in 27 minutes off the bench. 

The Quakers played without their leading scorer, guard Jordan Dingle, who averages 19.5 points. 

Arkansas is scheduled to play again Wednesday when Central Arkansas comes to Fayetteville. 

EARLIER

3:29, 2H - Arkansas 68, Penn 56

I think we're getting a glimpse into how important Au'Diese Toney is to Arkansas' energy on both ends, but especially on the glass. The Quakers have made this game fairly interesting with a nice second-half run.

JD Notae is up to 22 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Jaylin Williams has 3 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and Davonte Davis has 5 assists as well to go with 4 points and 5 boards.

Seven second-half turnovers for Arkansas have helped Penn stay in this one, because the Razorbacks are shooting 50% in this half. 

7:39, 2H - Arkansas 62, Penn 47

Stanley Umude a moment ago buried a left-wing three-pointer to give him 19 points for the game. It is almost double his previous season high. He's been great today on both ends.

JD Notae is right behind him at 18 points on 8 of 17 shooting. Notae 8 of 13 shooting inside the arc today. Still having some trouble finding the range from deep lately.

Davonte Davis just assisted on a Notae layup, giving Davis 5 assists in the game. It is one off a season high.

Jaylin Williams and Notae also have 4 assists. The rest of the team 1.

Clark Slajchert has a game-high 21 points for the Quakers.

11:34, 2H - Arkansas 55, Penn 36

Kamani Johnson, to his credit, hits the glass hard whenever he is inserted into the lineup. His activity was great in a short stint against Cincinnati on Tuesday, and that same effort led to an offensive rebound and trip to the foul line.

He missed both free throws, though, after coming out of a shoe under the rim.

Just an FYI: Au'Diese Toney finished the day with 12 points and 4 rebounds prior to his ejection.

13:00, 2H - Arkansas 55, Penn 34

Stanley Umude is up to 8 points in the second half, giving him a game-high 16.

Jaylin Williams is stuffing the stat sheet this half, too, with 2 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. JD Notae has 14 for the day.

Notae has a bucket in the second half as well as his second and third assists of the game. He just had a heat-check three-pointer rim out from the right wing. It would have brought the house down had it fallen.

Connor Vanover has 6 points, 3 rebounds since halftime.

15:47, 2H - Arkansas 49, Penn 27

The Razorbacks are on a nice run to open the second half. Arkansas has outscored the Quakers 12-1 since halftime.

Stanley Umude might be having his breakout game for the Razorbacks. He made a nice cut, threw down a dunk, blocked a shot then hit a three-pointer all in an impressive sequence.

Umude is up to 14 points off the bench. He and Vanover have accounted for all 12 of Arkansas' second-half points so far.

19:05, 2H - Arkansas 39, Penn 26

Connor Vanover opened the second half with a turnaround jumper on a postup near the left elbow. JD Notae did a great job recognizing the mismatch, telling Au'Diese Toney to clear out of the near-side corner and getting the ball to Vanover.

Toney, after Vanover's shot went down, got locked up with two Penn players and threw both of his hands at the face of one of them. He has been ejected after receiving a Flagrant 2.

That is now two ejections for the Razorbacks this season. Davonte Davis was tossed from the Northern Iowa game. 

Half: Arkansas 37, Penn 26

Au'Diese Toney picked up right where he left off in Kansas City, finishing with 12 points and 4 rebounds in the first half to lead the Razorbacks to a double-digit edge at the break.

Toney knocked down 5 of 7 shots. Most of his buckets came around the rim, but he did knock down a left-wing three-pointer in the half assisted by Jaylin Williams. He also grabbed 4 rebounds.

JD Notae pitched in 12 points on 5 of 10 shooting in the half and played better offensively than he did earlier this week. His floater right before halftime made him the second Arkansas player to reach double figures today. 

Notae leads the Razorbacks with 6 rebounds.

Davonte Davis has a team-best 3 assists, finding Toney twice for inside scores and Stanley Umude for a dunk. Umude has had a nice game off the bench, adding 8 points on 3 of 5 shooting.

Clark Slajchert scored a team-high 10 points for the Quakers in the first half.

Arkansas is 1 of 8 from three-point range so far, and Penn is 4 of 14 beyond the arc. The Razorbacks, too, are doubling up the Quakers in points in the paint (24-12).

Penn's leading scorer, Jordan Dingle, has not played today.

2:35, 1H - Arkansas 29, Penn 21

Play got a bit ragged around the 4-minute mark and Penn's coach had seen enough – from both teams, probably – to warrant a timeout.

Chris Lykes missed a pair of midrange jumpers in that stretch and Arkansas just flatly did not take advantage of some momentum-type opportunities.

Au'Diese Toney is up to 9 points and 4 rebounds. JD Notae has 10 points and 6 boards.

7:43, 1H - Arkansas 25, Penn 16

Davonte Davis is having a solid half and he has not taken a shot yet. He leads Arkansas with 3 assists. Davis' most recent assist led to a layup by Au'Diese Toney as they worked some high-low action.

Davis twice now has found Toney for layups, and his other went to Stanley Umude for a big dunk.

JD Notae is up to 10 points and 5 rebounds for the Razorbacks, and Toney has 7 points and 3 boards. Umude's offense seems to be coming along as well.

He's got 7 off the bench today and is doing some really good little things defensively that can lead to more playing time.

Arkansas has hit its last 4 shots and is shooting 55.6% as a team.

11:01, 1H - Arkansas 16, Penn 12

JD Notae leads the Razorbacks with 8 points so far. He hit a pair of free throws out of the last media timeout and just added a layup.

Jaylin Williams made a great skip pass to Au'Diese Toney for a left-wing three, then Davonte Davis hit Stanley Umude for a big dunk in the lane moments later.

Williams leads with 4 rebounds, and Toney/Notae each have 3.

15:58, 1H - Arkansas 7, Penn 7

JD Notae with some early offense for the Razorbacks, scoring twice so far on 5 shots. He got a layup to drop on Arkansas' first possession after taking advantage of a mismatch on a switch on the perimeter.

Notae later knocked down a jumper just off the left elbow for the Razorbacks' second score.

Au'Diese Toney already has an offensive rebound, so he's picking up where he left off in Kansas City. A Davonte Davis offensive rebound after a Connor Vanover missed left-corner three led to a layup for Toney.

Jaylin Williams split a pair of free throws.

Clark Slajchert has a team-high 5 points for Penn, which is 3 of 6 from the floor.

Notae will be at the line when play resumes.

Pregame

Arkansas' starting lineup: JD Notae, Davonte Davis, Au'Diese Toney, Jaylin Williams and Connor Vanover.

Toney, the 6-6 wing transfer from Pittsburgh, is coming off an MVP showing in the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City earlier this week. He grabbed a career-high 6 offensive rebounds in the win over Kansas State, then matched it with 6 more against Cincinnati on Tuesday. He averaged 16 points and 9 rebounds over the 2 games.

It will be interesting to see if Notae can get back to playing better ball. Eric Musselman said Tuesday the guard had been sick for 3 days, which may have contributed to his 8 of 34 shooting effort in Kansas City.

Vanover is making his fifth consecutive start. He averaged 11 points – 7 of 11 shooting – in 2 games at the Hall of Fame Classic.

Arkansas is 5-0 to begin the season for the third consecutive year under Musselman.

Penn's starters: Max Mertz (6-6), Nick Spinoso (6-9), Clark Slajchert (6-1), Jelani Williams (6-5) and Jonah Charles (6-4).

Jordan Dingle is the player to keep an eye on for the Quakers (3-5), though he is not starting today. He enters this game as one of the highest-volume shooters in college basketball. He has attempted 38.9% of Penn’s shots in his time on the floor, connected on 48.7% of his 80 two-point attempts and launched 57 threes.

Dingle is shooting 33.3% beyond the arc and has scored 20-plus points in 5 of the Quakers’ 8 games, including a season-high 31 points against Utah State on Nov. 18. He is coming off a 21-point night against Towson on Nov. 23.

Charles is a three-point threat Arkansas will have to account for as well. The junior has made 25 threes and knocked down 39.7% of his perimeter looks.

As a team, Penn ranks 294th nationally, according to KenPom, with a defensive efficiency rating of 106.3. About the only thing the Quakers have done well on that end so far is limit opponents’ attempts at the foul line. Offensively, they have hit 37.7% of their threes.

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