Arkansas coach Mike Anderson and the Razorbacks suffered their first loss 87-78 against Houston Friday in North Little Rock. (Photo by Gareth Patterson)
N. LITTLE ROCK – Houston used a 33-10 run spanning both halves to take control, then held on late for a 87-78 win over Arkansas Friday in North Little Rock.
The Cougars (3-0) used the surge to take a 15-point lead in the second half, then weathered a Razorbacks comeback attempt down the stretch.
“Let’s give Houston some credit,” Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said. “In the second half, they took the fight to us. It seemed like every time they needed a basket, we’d make a run to get back in the game, they’d get an offensive rebound or a stick back or make a play.
“That’s what you’ve got to do to win on the road. You’ve got to shoot the basketball.”
Houston broke open a 36-36 tie at halftime with a 23-5 run, building a 15-point lead.
“They came out and brought it to us hard and we didn’t respond,” junior guard Julysses Nobles said. “They came out more aggressive than us.”
The Hogs (2-1) cut a 14-point deficit to six three times in the second half, then cut it 72-68 on Nobles’ steal and emphatic one-handed dunk. The Cougars responded with a quick run, punctuated by Little Rock native Alandise Harris’ one-handed follow dunk.
“Arkansas was coming hard,” Harris said. “I just knew I had to make a play.”
Houston junior forward Kirk Van Slyke scored 19 points, mostly on jump shots and putbacks. He struggled with foul trouble in the second half, allowing Arkansas to chip away at the lead.
“Played really well,” Houston coach James Dickey said. “He was sharp tonight. Got his jumper off quick.”
The Razorbacks struggled to stop Van Slyke while playing without injured junior All-Southeastern Conference forward Marshawn Powell. The 6-foot-7, 219-pounder sustained a “severe” knee injury Thursday in practice.
“This team has been through a lot in the last 24 hours, 48 hours,” Anderson said. “You lose one of your best players, that’s an adjustment. I thought our guys were still kind of in a state of shock. They played on a lot of emotion and just couldn’t get the job done.
“We’ll get back and get to practice and now we’re going to know who’s not going to be there.”
The Hogs played with a five-guard lineup for much of the second half.
The lineup helped cut into the lead, but struggled rebounding. The Cougars scored 14 of their 19 second-chance points in the second half while grabbing 12 offensive rebounds in the game.
“We were just trying to get ourselves back in the game,” Anderson said. “We had to get into our scramble mode, and I thought it went well until we got tired. That’s when they took advantage of getting offensive rebounds and putting them in.
“We had our chances.”
Houston hit their free throws down the stretch and made 18 of 23 in the game, while Arkansas made just 18 of 29.
Nobles led four Razorbacks in double figures with 17 points. Freshman guard BJ Young scored 15 points, freshman guard Ky Madden scored 13 and senior forward Michael Sanchez scored 11.
“I’m also be proud of our guys, because they had the opportunity to fold their tent,” Anderson said. “They scratched and clawed and gave themselves a chance.”
The Hogs led for more than 18 minutes of the first half, but the Cougars used a 10-2 run to tie the game 36-36 at halftime.
Arkansas forced 10 turnovers in the half, but Houston hit 50 percent from the field to stay close then take momentum into halftime.
“Big key for us was closing gap (at end of half),” Dickey said. “That was critical and then we kept the momentum after halftime and kind of got control of the game.”