FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — J.D. Notae recorded his first career double-double and No. 12 Arkansas rolled to a 86-66 win against Charlotte on Tuesday night in nonconference action.
Notae finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds as the Razorbacks (9-0) took control of the game in the first half and never let up. Arkansas sophomore Jaylin Williams scored a career-high 15 points and added eight rebounds for Arkansas. Four players scored in double-figures for the Razorbacks.
Austin Butler led Charlotte (4-4) with 14 points and Jahmir Young finished with 10.
Charlotte trailed by double-digits most of the second half until Butler and Luka Vasic drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to pull the Niners within 73-64 with 5:50 left. After an Arkansas timeout, the Razorbacks closed the game on a 13-2 run.
“I thought we were really good late in the game,” Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said. “You’re going to go through stretches where the other team outplays you during the course of the game. It doesn’t happen very often where you outplay somebody for 40 straight minutes.”
Notae scored 13 of his points in the second half as the Razorbacks extended a 10-point halftime lead to 20 down the stretch to end a four-game homestand.
Notae said the focus in practice has been to get Williams more touches early in possessions. On Tuesday, Williams scored 10 of his 15 points in the first half.
“In practice we’ve been hitting him, so he’s been getting his touch right,” Notae said. “So tonight, he just showed it, finishing at the rim.”
A close game early, it turned Arkansas’ way midway through the first half. The Razorbacks broke away from a 14-14 tie at 11:52 with a 17-4 scoring burst.
Charlotte made a run to get within six points at 35-29 on a backdoor layup by Jackson Threadgill with 2:25 left in the half, but Arkansas went back up by 10 again when Williams forced a steal at midcourt and raced in uncontested for a slam for the 41-31 halftime lead.
Musselman said his team focused on limiting Charlotte’s leading scorer, Young, and the defensive focus worked. Young finished with 10 points, well below his 19 points per game average. Musselman praised the defensive play of Davis and Lykes who guarded Young most of the night.
“We talked about not only his ability to score the ball, but also his assists,” he said. “Devo was assigned to Young, and the other four guys were supposed to shrink the floor a little bit against him. We did not want him to make any threes, which would then open up his dribble-drive.”
Arkansas outrebounded Charlotte 41-21 and pulled down 15 offensive rebounds. For Notae, that was a huge jump from the one rebound he had against Arkansas-Little Rock last week.
“The coaches told us that this team doesn’t get many offensive rebounds,” he said. “So that was the game plan, to get on the defensive backboards. And a couple of them just fell into my hands.”
Charlotte next plays at Valparaiso on Saturday.
East Carolina 82, NC A&T 71
GREENVILLE — Vance Jackson scored a season-high 23 points as East Carolina topped North Carolina A&T 82-71 on Tuesday night. J.J. Miles added 20 points for the Pirates. Miles also had eight rebounds.
Tristen Newton had 14 points and eight assists for East Carolina (8-2), which earned its fourth consecutive victory. Tremont Robinson-White added 11 points.
East Carolina totaled 45 points in the second half, a season high for the team.
Demetric Horton had 15 points for the Aggies (3-7). Tyler Maye added 12 points. David Beatty had 12 points.
High Point 64, Guilford 59
HIGH POINT — Zach Austin recorded 14 points and 12 rebounds to carry High Point to a 64-59 win over Guilford on Tuesday night.
John-Michael Wright had 17 points for the Panthers (5-4). Bryant Randleman added 15 points.
Julius Burch had 19 points to pace the Quakers. Liam Ward added 13 points, while Tyler Dearman scored 10.
Campbell 74, Columbia International 56
BUIES CREEK — Austin McCullough had 16 points and six rebounds as Campbell defeated NAIA-member Columbia International 74-56 on Tuesday night.
Cedric Henderson Jr. had 14 points for Campbell (7-2), which earned its fourth straight home victory. Jesus Carralero added 12 points. Messiah Thompson had 12 points.
Devin Pope had 12 points for the Rams. Jalen Brinson added 10 points. Skyler McKinney had 10 points.
