NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace combined for 38 points, but Arkansas used 21 points from Isaiah Joe and a double-double from Daniel Gafford to outlast UTSA, 79-67, on Saturday night at Verizon Arena.
Jackson poured in 20 points, his fifth straight 20-point game, while Wallace added 18 and Byron Frohnen matched a season-high with 12 rebounds to lead the Roadrunners (3-7).
Joe drained 5-of-6 from behind the 3-point line and was 6-for-6 at the free-throw line — all in the final 30 seconds — to lead the Razorbacks (7-2). Gafford scored 13 and pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds, while Jalen Harris posted a double-double of his own with 11 points and 10 assists.
Arkansas led by as many as 10 points late in the first half, only to see UTSA take a four-point lead midway through the second half.
A Wallace three that narrowly beat the shot clock buzzer handed UTSA a 50-48 advantage near the midway point of the second, its first lead since the six-minute mark of the first half.
The UTSA lead grew to 52-48 after a pair of free throws by Giovanni De Nicolao before the Razorbacks reeled off five unanswered points, the last three on a trey from the top of the key by Joe.
Arkansas stretched it out to 62-57 after a short jumper by Gafford with just over five minutes remaining.
Gafford later knocked down a pair of free throws to make it 64-59, but Jackson drained a 3-pointer from the right wing to pull UTSA within two with 2:23 left on the clock.
Harris hit three free throws over the next 40 seconds and Mason Jones' layup with a minute left to play gave Arkansas a 69-62 advantage.
A double technical that resulted in the fifth foul on both Jackson and Jones, gave each team two free throws with 43.9 seconds remaining. The Razorbacks, who made 13 free throws in the final 2:42, hit one of the their two freebies, and Atem Bior knocked down both for UTSA to make it 70-65.
The Roadrunners then had two good looks from downtown, but could not convert either, and Arkansas made its free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
UTSA shot just 34.4 percent from the field and was 8-of-29 from beyond the arc and 17-of-24 at the line. Meanwhile, the Razorbacks shot 41.8 percent and converted 27-of-34 at the charity stripe.
UTSA got off to a hot start from the field, making six of its first seven shots to take a 13-8 lead a little over four minutes into the contest.
After taking a 17-12 lead on a Jackson layup at the 12:37 mark, the Roadrunners cooled off, as they missed 12 shots from the field during an 11-2 spurt by the Razorbacks that led to a 23-19 advantage for Arkansas.
A Wallace trey from the top of the key ended the field-goal drought and knotted the score at 23-all with 4:35 left to play in the half.
Arkansas answered with 10 straight points and eventually closed the half on a 12-5 run to take a 35-28 edge into the locker room.
The Roadrunners will return home and host Bethany (7-6) on Monday, Dec. 17. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center and the game can be heard live on Ticket 760 AM.
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