Arkansas basketball goes small in comeback victory over Abilene Christian

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas basketball brushed aside a discouraging second half and may have found some new life on its season Thursday in a comeback victory over Abilene Christian.

The Razorbacks (8-4) trailed the Wildcats by seven at halftime before rallying for an 83-73 victory. The Hogs bench outscored Abilene Christian's 62-23, with Tramon Mark scoring 25 and Khalif Battle chipping in 18.

The 55-38 advantage in the second half provided some much-needed optimism with just one non-conference game remaining on the schedule. Arkansas will host UNC-Wilmington on Dec. 30, with the first SEC game against Auburn scheduled for Jan. 6 in Fayetteville.

Here are four observations from the Arkansas win.

Small-ball lineup saves the day

With 18:44 remaining and Arkansas trailing 39-30, Eric Musselman brought Trevon Brazile to the bench and elected to play a four-guard lineup. The decision brought immediate rewards, with the Hogs quickly erasing the nine-point deficit and staying in that small lineup to close out the victory.

Arkansas outscored the Wildcats 53-34 with four guards on the floor. None of Mark, Battle, Davonte Davis and Keyon Menifield Jr. left the floor after Brazile's substitution. Chandler Lawson and Jalen Graham split most of the big-man minutes in the second half, with Lawson scoring nine points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

There were times where Arkansas struggled with defensive rebounding, but the tweak from Musselman gave the Hogs new life on offense and a different energy throughout the team. Arkansas played faster and had more space to operate. Mark and Battle both looked comfortable attacking the suddenly less-crowded paint.

Keyon Menifield Jr. makes case for more minutes

Menifield provided a needed spark in just his second game since being cleared to play by the NCAA. The Washington transfer was a key figure in the Hogs' second-half comeback, and he stuck a jumper with 15:03 remaining that gave Arkansas a 44-43 lead it would not relinquish.

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Menifield finished with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. The ball never stuck to his hands and he was able to initiate and finish offensive plays. With El Ellis struggling, Arkansas has needed a guard to step up and organize the offense. Menifield made a strong case agains Abilene Christian that he should be the starting point guard moving forward.

Turnovers are still a major issue

Arkansas played a much cleaner game in the second half, but the Hogs committed 12 turnovers across the first 20 minutes and finished the night with 17. To make matters worse, Arkansas only had nine assists.

When the offense gets stale, it also gets sloppy, and opponents are taking advantage of Arkansas mistakes. Abilene Christian scored 16 points off Arkansas turnovers.

Hogs need more from Trevon Brazile

Brazile has been a spectator for most of the past three games. He's still working back from a sprained ankle sustained against Furman on Dec. 4, but he needs to be a bigger part of the Hogs' success if they have a chance at righting the ship in SEC play.

Brazile finished with 8 points and 4 rebounds in 15 minutes. Arkansas looked better with him off the floor, but Musselman needs the NBA prospect to start finding his groove.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas basketball goes small, rallies past Abilene Christian