03/21/26 11:25:00
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03/21 23:24 CDT Acuff scores 36 as Arkansas holds off No. 12 seed High Point
94-88 to reach the Sweet 16
Acuff scores 36 as Arkansas holds off No. 12 seed High Point 94-88 to reach the
Sweet 16
By ERIK GARCIA GUNDERSEN
Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) --- Darius Acuff Jr. had 36 points and six assists to help
No. 4-seeded Arkansas survive a scare from 12th-seeded High Point with a 94-88
victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night.
The Razorbacks (28-8) will face the winner of Sunday's matchup between
top-seeded Arizona and No. 9 seed Utah State on Thursday in the Sweet 16 in San
Jose, California.
Two of the highest-scoring teams in the nation combined on a back-and-forth
affair that featured 15 lead changes and six ties, before Arkansas had just
enough late to send coach John Calipari to his 17th Sweet 16.
Rob Martin had 30 points, five assists and four rebounds for High Point (31-5),
which pulled off a first-round upset of fifth-seeded Wisconsin. Cam'Ron
Fletcher, who was recruited by Calipari when he coached at Kentucky, had 25
points.
Acuff, the SEC player of the year and freshman of the year, broke the school's
single-season record for points set by Todd Day in the 1990-91 season. Acuff is
just the 27th Division I player with at least 700 points, 200 assists and 100
rebounds in a season.
He had an answer every time it seemed High Point might be set to knock off its
second straight power conference team.
After Martin drove the lane to tie it at 83 with 3:17 left, Acuff answered with
a layup to make it 85-83. After the teams exchanged turnovers, Acuff made
another layup for a four-point lead. After Billy Richmond III blocked a shot,
the point guard then hit a 3-pointer with 1:01 remaining to make it 90-83.
Meleek Thomas had 19 points and Malique Ewin had 14 points and 12 rebounds for
the Razorbacks.
Arkansas breezed by No. 13 seed Hawaii 97-78 in the first round, continuing a
roll that propelled the Razorbacks to the Southeastern Conference Tournament
title. The Razorbacks were are an 11 1/2 favorite over High Point according to
the BetMGM Playbook.
But the Big South Tournament champions stayed with them nearly the entire way.
Johnston, who had the game-winning shot in High Point's 83-82 win over
Wisconsin, gave the Panthers a 42-41 with a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left in
the first half before Acuff drew a foul and made both free throws to give the
Razorbacks a 43-42 halftime lead.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and
coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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