FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Trevon Brazile’s versatile presence and Khalif Battle’s spark off the bench put pressure on No. 7 Duke Wednesday night in front of a record-breaking crowd of 20,344 at Bud Walton Arena.
Their Arkansas teammates took advantage of the opportunities they created and, of course, the contributions of two players eager to show critics the Hogs belong in the national rankings.
Brazile scored 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting while grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds. Battle added a team-high 21 points and five assists as the Razorbacks pulled away late in the second half for an 80-75 upset over the Blue Devils in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
Arkansas (5-3) snapped a two-game losing streak, and head coach Eric Musselman secured his 100th career victory.
Musselman described the game as a “classic street fight” as the Hogs and Blue Devils (5-2) exchanged leads 16 times, with no team leading by more than three points in the first half.
The Razorbacks led 33-32 at the half but came out and strung together quality possessions in the final 20 minutes to pull away.
Battle knocked down 3-of-8 three-pointers off the bench and finished 8-of-11 from the free throw line as Arkansas went on an 11-2 run to take a 55-45 lead with 10:55 remaining.
The Hogs entered the contest against Duke averaging 10.3 assists per game, but racked up 17 assists on 26 field goals and shot 49.1% from the field in the upset victory without leading scorer Tramon Mark.
Duke brought the Razorbacks' lead to three points with 17 seconds to play before Battle and Davonte Davis sealed the win at the free throw line.
Arkansas guard El Ellis added nine points and six assists, while forward Layden Blocker finished with nine points and three rebounds in 21 minutes.
The Razorbacks held the Blue Devils to 35.8% shooting from the field and 6-of-22 shooting from behind the arc. Chandler Lawson tallied six blocks, which was the most by an Arkansas player against a top-10 team since Steven Hill's six blocks against No. 3 Illinois in 2004.
Arkansas, who fell out of the AP Top 25 poll this week, will host Furman on Dec. 4. Coverage from Bud Walton Arena begins at 7:00 p.m. Central on SEC+.