FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Trevon Brazile had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Khalif Battle scored 21 off the bench and Arkansas held on to beat No. 7 Duke 80-75 on Wednesday night.
Playing without leading scorer Tramon Mark, the Razorbacks (5-3) snapped a two-game skid before a capacity crowd of 20,344 — a record at Bud Walton Arena. When the final horn sounded, fans rushed the floor to celebrate.
“It was awesome. Words can’t describe the feeling right now. It’s a great win,” coach Eric Musselman said after his 100th victory at Arkansas.
Preseason All-American Kyle Filipowski was held to three points for the Blue Devils (5-2) in the first half. He played a key role in their late rally, though, finishing with 26 points and 10 rebounds.
“We talk about confrontations all the time. When you go to the basket, you’ve got to go with conviction,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “I thought a few times we were going just to get our shots off. Against a team like them, you’re not going to be very efficient just trying to get your shot off.”
Mark is with the Razorbacks but he sat out because of a back injury after he was carted off the court and taken to a hospital following a hard fall during their previous game in the Bahamas. Musselman pointed to his reserves as one of the biggest reasons Arkansas was able to overcome the absence of Mark, who is averaging 18.4 points per game.
“When you look at the bench points, 36-9, I think that was a big part of tonight’s win,” Musselman said. “Because when you’re down your leading scorer and your bench goes out and outscores an opponent like that, that’s that talented, with a full roster, it’s pretty clear that we do have some depth.”
Arkansas stayed in the game early with defense, ultimately limiting Duke to 36% shooting. But it was a scoring run midway through the second half that finally broke things open in a game that was part of the ACC/SEC Challenge.
Neither team led by more than three in the first 28 minutes of the game, which included 16 lead changes. But then Arkansas went on a quick 7-0 spurt in 59 seconds just before the under-12 media timeout in the second half, prompting a Duke timeout as the Razorbacks’ lead grew to eight.
Three minutes later, Scheyer burned another timeout, his team trailing by 13 after Brazile’s blocked shot was taken the other way and finished for a layup by Layden Blocker.
Arkansas pushed the margin to 67-53 and was still up by 12 with 2:10 left before the Blue Devils cut their deficit to four with 46 seconds remaining by going on a 10-2 run. It was down to three with 18 seconds to go, but Arkansas went 4 of 6 at the free-throw line down the stretch to stave off a collapse.
Chandler Lawson had seven points, eight rebounds and six blocks for Arkansas. Battle scored 15 in the second half.
Duke starts Atlantic Coast Conference play Saturday at Georgia Tech.
Davidson 85, Charlotte 81
CHARLOTTE — David Skogman’s 30 points led Davidson over Charlotte 85-81 on Wednesday night.
Skogman also had seven rebounds for the Wildcats (4-3). Bobby Durkin shot 5 for 8 (4 for 7 from 3-point range) to add 18 points. Connor Kochera finished with 16 points.
Igor Milicic Jr. led the way for the 49ers (4-3) with 19 points and eight rebounds. Lu’Cye Patterson added 16 points for Charlotte. In addition, Nik Graves finished with 13 points and six assists.
Queens 83, Gardner-Webb 80
CHARLOTTE — BJ McLaurin led Queens with 24 points, including a game-winning 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left, and the Royals defeated Gardner-Webb 83-80 on Wednesday night.
McLaurin also had 12 rebounds for the Royals (4-4). Chris Ashby scored 23 points while going 8 of 13 (7 for 9 from 3-point range). AJ McKee finished with 14 points.
DQ Nicholas led the Runnin’ Bulldogs (3-5) in scoring, finishing with 18 points. Gardner-Webb also got 16 points, seven rebounds and two steals from Caleb Robinson. In addition, Lucas Stieber finished with 11 points.
Wake Forest 82, Florida 71
WINSTON-SALEM — Hunter Sallis scored 24 points, Andrew Carr had 22 and Wake Forest pulled away in the final minutes to beat Florida 82-71 on Wednesday night in an ACC/SEC Challenge game.
Carr was 8 of 13 from the floor, including three 3-pointers, and Sallis 8 of 15. Cameron Hildreth added 18 points and Kevin Miller had 10 for the Demon Deacons (4-3).
Riley Kugel scored 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting with four 3-pointers, and Zyon Pullin, Walter Clayton Jr. and Tyrese Samuel scored 12 points each for the Gators (4-3).
The game was tied with four minutes remaining before the Deacons edged away. Sallis’ three-point play gave Wake Forest a seven-point lead with a minute-and-a-half left. A deadball technical and common foul on Tyrese Samuel led to four free throws by Hildreth and an 11-point edge — the first double-digit lead of the game — with 50 seconds remaining. The Gators hurt themselves with four turnovers over the final couple minutes.
Sallis scored 16 second-half points, Hildreth added 12 — including 8 of 10 at the line — and Carr 10 as Wake Forest rallied from a four-point halftime deficit. The Deacons shot 61.5% in the second half. They made 16 of 20 at the line in the second half and finished 20 of 29 on free throws.
Kugel hit a 3-pointer and then two free throws for the final points of the half and a 36-32 lead.
Wake Forest is host to Rutgers next Wednesday.
Appalachian State 72, East Tennessee State 61
BOONE — Tre’Von Spillers scored 15 points as Appalachian State beat East Tennessee State 72-61 on Wednesday night.
Spillers had 11 rebounds and four blocks for the Mountaineers (5-2). Jordan Marsh added 14 points and Myles Tate finished with 12 points.
Jadyn Parker finished with 12 points, six rebounds and two steals for the Buccaneers (3-4). Justice Smith added 12 points and two steals for East Tennessee State. Ebby Asamoah also put up 12 points.
High Point 77, Morgan State 59
AMHERST, Mass. — Kimani Hamilton’s 20 points helped High Point defeat Morgan State 77-59 on Wednesday night.
Hamilton added 10 rebounds for the Panthers (5-3). Trae Benham scored 15 points and added five rebounds. Duke Miles was 5 of 8 shooting and finished with 13 points.
Christian Oliver finished with 14 points and two blocks for the Bears (2-7). Wynston Tabbs added 12 points for Morgan State. Marvin Brimage also had 10 points and three steals. The loss is the sixth in a row for the Bears.
Jacksonville 62, Campbell 48
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Bryce Workman’s 18 points helped Jacksonville defeat Campbell 62-48 on Wednesday night.
Workman added 11 rebounds for the Dolphins (5-2). Robert McCray scored 13 points, while Jarius Cook and Gyasi Powell both had 10 points.
The Fighting Camels (2-5) were led by Anthony Dell’Orso, who recorded 19 points, six rebounds and two steals. Laurynas Vaistaras added nine points for Campbell.
Campbell hosts Southern Virginia on Saturday.
