Center Malique Ewin scored a season-high 21 points and collected his first three assists of the campaign, Karter Knox had a double-double, and No. 21 Arkansas placed seven players in double figures in a 115-61 blowout of Jackson State on Friday in Fayetteville, Ark.
Knox had 17 points and 10 rebounds, D.J. Wagner had 16 points, and Meleek Thomas added 13 off the bench for the Razorbacks (5-1), who scored their most points in a game in coach John Calipari’s two seasons.
Tamarion Hoover had 19 points and hit four 3-pointers while Dorian McMillian had nine points for the Tigers (0-5), who have also lost to ranked foes Illinois, Louisville and Auburn. Second-leading scorer Daeshun Ruffin did not score in eight minutes.
The Razorbacks led 47-19 at the half and kept pushing, making 16 of their first 19 field goal attempts in the second half. They scored 68 points in the frame and led 79-27 with 12 minutes remaining.
Arkansas shot 63.9% from the field and had a 38-27 rebounding advantage while committing only six turnovers.
Billy Richmond III had a season-high 14 points and Darius Acuff Jr. had 10 for the Razorbacks, who also made 28 of 36 free throws.
The Tigers shot 34.4% from the field and made 9 of 27 3-pointers. They were 7 of 33 from the floor in the first half, including 3 of 15 from distance.
Arkansas has won all 13 meetings between the two teams.
The Razorbacks used their fourth starting combination while looking for the best way to attack a schedule that gets appreciably more difficult.
They play 19 of their remaining 24 regular-season games against teams that won at least 20 games last season, beginning with Duke in the CBS Thanksgiving Classic on Thursday in Chicago.
Thomas made an immediate impact when he entered after the first media timeout. He hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 12-7 lead, and his lob passes set up Richmond for run-out dunks on the next two possessions as the Razorbacks broke from a 7-7 tie four minutes into the game.
Arkansas asserted itself within a pair of long scoring runs to take control. Wagner’s dunk capped a 24-9 run for a 31-16 lead.
After Jayme Mitchell Jr. hit a 3 to stop the run, the Razorbacks scored the final 16 points of the first half to take a 47-19 lead.
–Field Level Media
