PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Darius Acuff Jr. had 24 points and seven assists, and No. 4 seed Arkansas continued its strong play after winning the Southeastern Conference Tournament, beating No. 13 seed Hawaii 97-78 on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Arkansas (27-8) moves on to face No. 12 High Point in the second round of the West Region. The Panthers knocked off No. 5 Wisconsin 83-82 in the first game in Portland.
Meleek Thomas had 21 points and eight rebounds for coach John Calipari's Razorbacks, Trevon Brazile added 19 points and three blocks, and Malique Ewin had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Dre Bullock finished with 21 points and eight rebounds for Hawaii (24-9), the Big West Conference champion, and Isaac Johnson scored 15.
The Razorbacks took an 11-0 lead and never looked back, dominating the Rainbow Warriors inside.
Arkansas outscored Hawaii 64-40 in the paint, which was more than enough for the Razorbacks to overcome their 19% shooting from 3-point range.
After trailing 32-18, Hawaii went on a 9-4 run to cut the lead to 36-27 on a 3-pointer by Isaac Finlinson, but the Rainbow Warriors got no closer.
The Razorbacks had back-to-back alley-oop dunks to bring the crowd to its feet to close the first half. Brazile’s slam with 1:06 left in the first half made it 52-36, and Brazile blocked a shot on the next Hawaii possession, leading a dunk by Billy Richmond III.
With 6:06 left, Bullock was called for a flagrant foul against Arkansas’ DJ Wagner. Wagner split the free throws and the Razorbacks converted on the ensuing possession with another alley-oop dunk by Brazile to make it 86-63.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
