Trevon Brazile poured in a career-high 23 points, prized freshman Nick Smith Jr. scored 16 points in his long anticipated first start, and the No. 11 Arkansas Razorbacks crushed visiting San Jose State 99-58 on Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.

Leading by only five points at halftime, Arkansas (7-1) opened the second by connecting on five of its first six shot attempts, extending the lead to 52-41 in the first five minutes.

It outscored the visitors 18-7 in the first 10 minutes to blow the game open, eventually routing the Spartans (6-3) by a 59-23 margin over the final 20 minutes.

The 6-foot-10 Brazile connected on 8 of 9 field goals, grabbed five rebounds, handed out two assists and blocked two shots. Ricky Council IV had 17 points and Jalen Graham added 11.

Following his debut Monday after being held out the first six games as a precaution for his ailing right knee, the 6-5 Smith was inserted into the starting lineup and went 6-for-14 from the field with five assists in 24 minutes. He made 3 of his 5 attempts from deep.

In their first-ever meeting with the Mountain West Conference school, the Razorbacks were 37-for-59 (62.7 percent) from the field and 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) on 3-pointers. They held a 23-2 on fastbreak points and 44-4 edge in bench scoring.

After earning a fifth-place finish in the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship over the weekend, the 19-point underdog Spartans got a season-high 21 points from Omari Moore, while Sage Tolbert III had 12 and Ibrahima Diallo 10.

With Davonte Davis on the bench, Smith started and hit an early trey for a 5-2 lead, but the Spartans appeared up for the challenge of facing the Southeastern Conference squad.

They tied it at 11 on Moore’s two free throws, giving him six points right away, but Arkansas got into transition and pulled away for a 17-11 lead on Brazile’s three-point play.

The teams traded the lead 12 times in the half, but the Razorbacks used a 9-0 run near the end of the half to hold a 40-35 advantage at the break.

–Field Level Media