Brazile, Transfers Start Razorbacks Season on Powerful Note
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Boom. Trevon Brazile's emphatic hat trick of dunks in the opening 7 minutes set the tone for a wire-to-wire Arkansas victory over the Alcorn State Braves, 93-59 in the season opener. Brazile, in his first official game action since an ACL injury last season, wasted no time bringing the crowd to their feet with a dunk on the opening possession.
"I thought the timeline that we all put together was awesome," Musselman said. "We had a little conversation on the front end, and now he’s able to play the way that he’s capable of playing. He’s improved as a shooter. I thought athletically tonight, he rose above a lot of people. Yeah, I would say he’s 100% healthy and kind of fearless the way he’s jumping and rebounding in traffic."
With the crowd engaged, Brazile followed with two more dunks, part of a 13-point night. His night however was cut short when he was ejected with 12:42 left in the second half for leaving the bench during a skirmish between the two teams.
Fresh off forcing 14 steals against Purdue in the charity exhibition game against Purdue, the Hogs' active hands and pressure were at it again forcing eight turnovers in the first half. The Razorbacks also were everywhere on the glass coming up with 7 offensive rebounds leading to six second-chance points and 13 points off Braves turnovers. The Hogs were led by Temple transfer Khalif Battle all night long, finishing with a team-high 21 points, going 5-for-9 from the field and 8-for-9 from the free throw line.
"I've been doing this my whole life," Battle said. "Not to be cocky or anything like that, but I've been a scorer my whole life. My grandma always told me, when you know who you are, you know what you do. So, I just always pay that forward."
Battle was not the only transfer who shined and quickly endeared themselves to the Hogs faithful. Premier marksmanship from Houston transfer Tramon Mark from the field with three triples led to a team-high 13 first-half points of his total 16 to complete a dominant first half with the Razorbacks leading 46-22 heading into the locker room.
The second half featured more of the same. Perhaps the most encouraging sign is the improved shooting from beyond the arc. The Hogs finished the night 12-for-30, including hitting their first four attempts of the second half. Although the percentage came crashing down with a slew of misses towards the end of the game, 40 percent is still a marked improvement from 31.7 a year ago.
Joesph Pinion applied the coup de grâce with his first triple of the night with 1:55 left in the game and sent Bud Walton Arena into its final roar of the night.
"I told the team before the game (that) somebody’s getting beat tonight across the country," Musselman said. "I told the team, I promise, somebody’s getting beat ... So you’ve got to great respect for who you play every night."
The Hogs will continue their four-game season-opening homestand against Gardner-Webb and look to avoid an unfortunate fate 7 p.m. Nov. 10. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
HOGS FEED:
KJ JEFFERSON FINDS HIS SUNSHINE IN FLORIDA PLUS A COUPLE OF LIGHTLY-USED RECEIVERS
ARKANSAS SURVIVES WILD DUEL DOWN IN THE SWAMP, MAINTAINS BOWL ELIGIBILITY FOR TIME BEING
FIRST YEAR TIGHT ENDS COACH FORCED BACK TO SQUARE ONE AFTER ANOTHER SEASON-ENDING INJURY
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