Boogie Fland led six different Razorbacks in double figures with 16 points and Arkansas led from the start in downing Central Arkansas 82-57 Saturday afternoon at North Little Rock, Ark.
Arkansas leading scorer Adou Thiero did not play due to illness. Arkansas (9-2) shot 60 percent from the field for the game and had a 36-22 edge in rebounds.
Fland also had nine assists, five rebounds and five steals for the Razorbacks.
Karter Knox had 14 points for the Razorbacks. D.J. Wagner and Jonas Aidoo had 13 points apiece for Arkansas, who has won four games in a row.
Arkansas raced out to a quick 9-2 lead in front of a pro-Razorbacks crowd at the neutral court in the first three minutes. The lead expanded to 22-7 after back-to-back steals and lay-ups by Fland.
Central Arkansas (2-8) pulled to 27-17 on a 3-pointer by Ben Fox with 8:35 left in the first half, but that’s as close as the Bears would come the rest of the way. Arkansas shot 68 percent from the floor in the first half and outscored the Bears 24-8 in the paint.
Knox kept the show going for Arkansas with a strong baseline drive and dunk with 7:21 left to push the Arkansas lead to 75-46. The lead hit the high-water mark of 31 when Fland drained a straight-on three to make it 80-49 with 4:44 left.
About the only complaint Arkansas coach John Calipari could have had was his team’s issue with closing out on 3-point shooters. Three different times Arkansas fouled Bear shooters in the act of shooting threes.
Elias Cato led the Bears with 15 points. Layne Taylor had 13.
Arkansas improved to 15-10 in Simmons Arena and has never lost to Central Arkansas in three meetings.
After beating No. 14 Michigan on Tuesday and the easy win Saturday, the Razorbacks could crack the Top 25 when it’s released on Monday.
Although impressive shooting Saturday, the 60 percent shot by the Razorbacks was not a top-10 performance all-time. An Arkansas team featuring Sidney Moncrief shot 79.4 percent from the floor in a game against Texas Tech in 1979.
The Razorbacks have two more nonconference games before opening SEC play on the road against No. 1 Tennessee Jan. 4.
–Field Level Media
