Mitoglou's late 3 powers Wake Forest past Arkansas 88-85
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) Devin Thomas knew when to turn it on for Wake Forest.
The senior forward scored 10 consecutive points after Arkansas had surged into the lead, helping the Demon Deacons pull out an 88-85 victory Friday night.
''I wasn't really looking for my shot before that in the game,'' Thomas said. ''There was a lot of confidence. The team was looking for some offense.''
Thomas provided it by producing half of his 20 points in the final nine minutes.
Dinos Mitoglou hit a go-ahead 3-point basket with 45 seconds remaining.
Arkansas wiped out a 14-point deficit and then Thomas responded for Wake Forest (6-2). He finished 8 for 11 from the field.
''Instead of being passive in that moment, I was going to be aggressive and shoot the ball,'' he said.
Coach Danny Manning liked the approach on offense in addition to Thomas' 12 rebounds.
''Once again, he had a monster game,'' Manning said. ''We're riding him right now.''
Mitoglou's basket from the right corner made it 86-83 before Manuale Watkins countered with a basket for the Razorbacks.
''He came back to haunt us,'' said Arkansas coach Mike Anderson, who liked how the Razorbacks defended Mitoglou for long stretches of the game.
Arkansas (3-4) regained possession after Bryant Crawford made one of two free throws, but Wake Forest got the ball back with 6.2 seconds and Cornelius Hudson made the second of two free-throw attempts.
Anthlon Bell's 3-point attempt bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
''They made more plays than we did down the stretch,'' Anderson said. ''One more play than we did. We didn't lose the game. We just ran out of time.''
Hudson finished with 17 points, Mitchell Wilbekin had 13 points. Mitoglou, who did all his scoring in the second half, and John Collins each finished with 10 points for Wake Forest.
Dusty Hannahs and Moses Kingsley each scored 15 points for Arkansas. Watkins had 14 and Bell ended with 13.
Hudson connected on 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions to help Wake Forest to a 32-23 lead. He entered the game 1 for 8 on 3s this season.
Wake Forest led by as many as 11 in the first half before settling for a 48-39 edge at the break.
Arkansas responded midway through the second half, going ahead on Hannahs' 3-point play at the 8:45 mark.
Thomas had 10 points in the next four minutes. Jabril Durham and Bell's back-to-back 3s put Arkansas back in front at 81-80 for its last lead of the game.
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TIP-INS
Arkansas: Durham, a senior guard, has three double-digit assist outings this season, and he added more eight against Wake Forest. That gives him 56 assists for the season, eclipsing last season's total of 52.
Wake Forest: Wake Forest ended an eight-game losing streak against opponents from the Southeastern Conference. This marked the second of three games against SEC teams for Wake Forest this season, having already lost to Vanderbilt and scheduled to go to LSU later this month.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
Hudson scored three points in 16 minutes in last season's 83-53 loss at Arkansas.
''Confidence is the key to the whole game,'' said Hudson, who was in his third game of the season after sitting out as part of a season-opening five-game suspension.
OUT OF RANGE
Arkansas was left with a season-low five 3-point baskets. The Razorbacks took 17 attempts from 3-point range, though Bell had a decent look from the left wing with a chance to send the game to overtime.
UP NEXT
Arkansas returns home for Tuesday night's game against Evansville.
Wake Forest is off until a Dec. 15 visit from North Carolina-Greensboro.
