FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Khalif Battle finished with 25 points to top 1,000 for his career and Arkansas beat Furman 97-83 on Monday night.
Battle, who needed three points to reach the milestone, came off the bench to sink 7 of 11 shots with four 3-pointers and 7 of 8 free throws for the Razorbacks (6-3). Battle transferred to Arkansas after playing for Butler his freshman year and for Temple the last three seasons.
Chandler Lawson scored 19 on 8-for-10 shooting with a 3-pointer for Arkansas. Trevon Brazile scored 13 and Davonte Davis pitched in with 10 rebounds and eight assists to go with seven points. Freshman Layden Blocker totaled nine points, five rebounds and five assists off the bench.
JP Pegues had 21 points to lead the Paladins (4-5). Pegues was 10 for 10 at the free-throws line, including five in a row after he was fouled on a 3-point attempt and Arkansas coach Eric Musselman was hit with a technical foul with 1:38 left to play. That pulled Furman within 10 points. Pegues added a four-point play with 1:12 remaining to get the Paladins within 88-81, but they would get no closer.
Alex Williams made 5 of 9 from distance and scored 20 for Furman. Carter Whitt had 14 points, four rebounds and three steals. Garrett Hien scored 10 with five rebounds.
Ten different players scored for Arkansas in the first half. The bench accounted for 19 points to help the Razorbacks take a 40-35 lead at halftime. Williams hit four 3-pointers and scored 15 to keep Furman close.
Arkansas came in averaging 29 free throws — fifth most in the country — and 20 makes, 11th best. The Razorbacks sank 15 of 21 against the Paladins.
Lawson and Blocker both had three of Arkansas' 10 blocked shots in the first-ever meeting between the schools. The Razorbacks entered play averaging 6.8 per game, second most in the country.
Arkansas will host No. 19 Oklahoma on Saturday. Furman returns home to play Bob Jones University on Saturday.
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