FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ ninth-ranked basketball team prevailed in an unexpected tight game Tuesday night.
The Razorbacks overcame a poor first-half performance to defeat North Carolina-Greensboro 65-58 at Bud Walton Arena.
Arkansas (8-1) was a 20 1/2-point favorite over the Spartans (4-6).
Junior guard Davonte Davis made two free throws with 4:04 remaining to give Arkansas the lead for good at 51-49. That was part of an 8-0 run for the Razorbacks that included a three-pointer by Anthony Black with 3:09 remaining to put Arkansas ahead 54-49.
UNC-Greensboro cut the deficit to 54-52 on Kobe Langley’s step-back three-pointer with 2:08 to play, snapping a 3-minute, 43-second scoring drought for the Spartans.
Arkansas responded with another 5-0 spurt that included two Ricky Council free throws, and a three-point play by Nick Smith following a steal with 1:29 remaining.
UNC-Greensboro cut the deficit to 61-58 on Langley’s three-pointer with 21.1 seconds left, but Arkansas made the most of its free-throw attempts late.
The Razorbacks made 26 of 33 free throws, including 23 of 27 in the second half. Smith made a pair of free throws with 0.2 seconds remaining to cap his 22-point performance, a game and season high.
UNC-Greensboro led by as many as 12 points in the first half as the Razorbacks struggled to a poor offensive start. Arkansas had only six points more than 13 minutes into the game.
The Razorbacks shot 9 for 30 before halftime, including 0 for 8 from three-point range. The Spartans led 26-21 at halftime.
Arkansas’ 21 first-half points were the second-fewest by a ranked Razorback team in the shot-clock era. Arkansas scored 19 points against Centenary while ranked 13th in December 1997.
Makhi Mitchell scored 13 points and had 14 rebounds in his first double-double as a Razorback. Black added 11 points and Davis scored 10.
Arkansas' top bench player, Trevon Brazile, left the game in the first half with an apparent right knee injury and did not return. Brazile was scoreless and had two rebounds in nine minutes.
Donovan Atwell scored 12 points to lead UNC-Greensboro. Dante Treacy added 11 points and Langley scored 10.
Arkansas is scheduled to play again Saturday against Oklahoma in the neutral-site Crimson & Cardinal Classic at BOK Center in Tulsa. The game will begin at noon.