FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.—Jaylin Williams scored a career-high 19 points, JD Notae added 17 and Arkansas cruised to a 75–59 victory over South Carolina on Tuesday night.
It was the third consecutive win for Arkansas (13–5, 3–3 Southeastern Conference), yet it ended a string of 1,092 games with at least one made 3-pointer. The last time the Razorbacks didn’t hit a 3 was when they went 0 of 2 at Texas on Jan. 7, 1989.
Arkansas was 0 of 11 from distance but shot 24 of 59 (41 percent) overall from the field against the Gamecocks.
The Razorbacks trailed by seven points at halftime but opened the second on an 18–3 run, shooting 8 of 16 from the floor for a 51–41 lead. Au’Diese Toney scored six points and Williams added four during the stretch.
South Carolina missed its first 11 field goals after the break before Devin Carter’s jumper and later a free throw made it 51–46 with 10:25 left, but the Gamecocks didn’t get closer.
Toney finished with 13 points and Stanley Umude added 12 for the Razorbacks, who shot 15 of 30 from the floor in the second half and 27 of 33 (82 percent) overall from the free-throw line.
Carter scored 20 points to lead South Carolina (10–7, 1–4), which has lost three straight. The Gamecocks shot 44 percent (14 of 32) in the first half but just 22 percent (6 of 27) in the second. James Reese V scored 10.
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman returned five days after having surgery on his left shoulder, which was injured during a collision at practice. He coached the game wearing a sling. He missed the team’s last game.
South Carolina hosts Georgia on Saturday. Arkansas is at home against Mississippi on Saturday.
