Arkansas makes quick work of Wake Forest, 83-53

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) Ky Madden had 11 points to lead six players in double figures as Arkansas used a 15-0 first-half run to pull away for an 83-53 win over Wake Forest on Wednesday night.

The win is the 45th straight at home against unranked nonconference opponents for the Razorbacks (2-0), who were picked to finish third in the Southeastern Conference in the preseason.

Twelve players scored for Arkansas, with Bobby Portis, Moses Kingsley, Anton Beard, Alandise Harris and Jacorey Williams each finishing with 10 points.

Devin Thomas led the Demon Deacons (2-1) with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Wake Forest, the preseason pick to finish 12th in the Atlantic Coast Conference, shot just 32.2 percent (19 of 59) from the field and committed 22 turnovers.

After struggling to shoot the ball early, Arkansas used a trio of fast-break alley-oops to ignite its offense.

The Demon Deacons tied the game at 10-10 on a putback dunk by Aaron Rountree. The play was followed by an alley-oop dunk by Williams off an assist by Jabril Durham, one of three first-half alley-oops by the Razorbacks.

Williams' dunk sparked Arkansas on both offense and defense, with the Razorbacks scoring several baskets off turnovers during the 15-0 run.

The surge was capped when Kingsley blocked a shot for Arkansas and Madden saved the ball from going out of bounds by jumping over the Razorbacks bench and throwing the ball backward over his head. Beard finished the play on the other end with a 3-pointer to give Arkansas, which had 15 points off 11 Wake Forest turnovers in the half, a 25-10 lead.

The Razorbacks led by as many as 20 points in the first half and never by less than 14 points in the second half on their way to the comfortable victory.

Arkansas shot 52.5 percent (32 of 61) for the game, including 16 of 26 (61.5 percent) in the second half.

TIP-INS

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons missed their first 14 3-point attempts before Cornelius Hudson hit with 4:49 remaining. They finished 1 of 18 from behind the arc after entering the game having connected on 9 of 25 (48.6 percent) 3-point attempts.

Arkansas: Wake Forest is one of two ACC teams on the schedule this season for the Razorbacks, who travel to Clemson on Dec. 7.

UP NEXT

Wake Forest begins a five-game stretch at home when it hosts Iona on Friday night.

Arkansas plays its third straight game at home to open the season, facing Delaware State on Friday night.