Hogs, Musselman Survive Barrage of Monarch Triples

Razorbacks refuse to buckle when faced with stiffest challenge yet to survive

Author:
Daniel Shi
Updated:
Nov 14, 2023 8:10 AM EST
Original:
Nov 13, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Eric Musselman had been warning his team from the beginning not to underestimate the early slate of teams. Arkansas nearly had to come to grips with a shocking defeat in a tussle with the Old Dominion Monarchs, 86-77, and improved to 3-0.

"Defending without fouling (was) A-plus," Musselman said. "Taking care of the basketball, I don’t know if I’ve ever had a team only have four turnovers against a high-steal team. Against a team that plays four guards at a time and has great quickness. So taking care of the ball, A-plus. Defensive rebounding, Double-F. Transition defense, Triple-F. Guarding the three, there’s no grade it was so bad. So some good, and some very poor."

After starting the game 0-for-7 from deep, the Monarchs caught fire for the rest of the game, finishing the game 11-for-24 and giving the Hogs all they could handle down the stretch.

Razorbacks El Ellis during the game with Old Dominion — Razorbacks guard El Ellis tries to drive baseline against Old Dominion's Allette Vasean
(Andy Hodges / allHOGS Images)

Perhaps in an encouraging sign contrary to years past, the Hogs always kept the Monarchs at arm's length and never trailed in the second half, coming up with just enough timely baskets to avert disaster and winning the game behind five different Hogs in double figures. Despite being down 14 with five minutes, the Monarchs mounted one last charge. It took a layup from Makhi Mitchell to cap off a career-high 15 points with 3:13 left to stretch the lead back to eight and put the game away for good.

"Just playing my minutes," Mitchell said. "Embracing my role and just doing my job."

In front of a rather mundane crowd, the pace of the game started at a crawl. The Hogs once again relied on their suffocating defense to carry them while their offense slowly came to life. Coming off his five-block performance against Gardner-Webb, Trevon Brazile came up with four blocks in the first half as an encore leading the Monarchs to start 20% from the field, allowing the Hogs to build an early 17-11 lead.

"God really took his time with TB," guard Khalif Battle said after the game. "Making him tall, athletic, shoot the ball, can put the ball on the floor, can defend. He has a lot of God-given talent but just as a person he’s a great person. His mindset, he’s always focused when it comes to basketball, so he’s a great teammate."

The Razorbacks also had to navigate some early foul trouble. Hogs leading scorers through two games, Battle and Tramon Mark both picked up two fouls early, forcing the Hogs to quickly find other options to score the basketball. Mitchell and Davonte "Devo" Davis picked up the slack. They both finished the half in double figures, scoring 11 and 10 points respectively.

The Hogs had multiple opportunities to stretch their double-digit lead to blowout territory, but the Monarchs always had a timely basket to quell the momentum. After starting the half 0-for-7 from behind the arc, the Monarchs made three of their final four triples including a buzzer-beater from RJ Blakney to cut the lead back to just 37-31.

The halftime break did nothing to cool down the Monarchs, who came out of the break hotter than ever, making their first two triples, quickly trimming the lead even further to just one possession.

Razorbacks Davonte Davis during the game with Old Dominion — Razorbacks Davonte "Devo" Davis looks inside against Old Dominion on Monday night.
(Andy Hodges / allHOGS Images)

Although the Hogs didn't make many threes of their own, finishing the game 8-for-19. Brazile and Mark each came up with timely triples to hold the Monarchs at bay, stretching the lead back to 63-55 with 11:15 to play.

Meanwhile, the Monarchs just continued to stand and deliver from beyond the arc. The home crowd exuded a rather sarcastic cheer when the Monarchs finally missed a three in the second half.

After being held to two points in the first half, El Ellis provided much-needed offensive efficiency, scoring 15 points on 6-of-8 from the field in the second half.

The Hogs also took care of business at the line down the stretch, finishing the game 10-for-14 at the line after starting 8-for-15 to avoid any extra shenanigans.

"We stunk to start the game," Musselman said. "We stunk to start the game last game. We stunk to start the half. So, something's got to give."

The Hogs will wrap up their opening four-game home stand against UNC-Greensboro 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17. The game will be streamed on SEC+.