No. 17 Arkansas romps to 108-74 blowout against South Carolina

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Darius Acuff Jr. had 18 points and 13 assists as No. 17 Arkansas routed South Carolina 108-74 on Wednesday night.

Meleek Thomas led six Razorbacks in double figures with 21 points off the bench. Reserve forward Malique Ewin scored 18, Trevon Brazile had 13 and D.J. Wagner added 12.

Nick Pringle, who spent last season at South Carolina, set a season high with 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Acuff, a freshman, posted his third double-double and set a career best for assists. He’s scored in double figures in every game for Arkansas (13-4, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) this season.

Meechie Johnson paced the Gamecocks (10-7, 1-3) with 29 points.

South Carolina led once at 7-6 before Arkansas went on a 12-2 run in 4:59 to open a 22-12 lead. The Gamecocks shot just 1 of 9 from the field during that span.

Arkansas didn’t commit its first turnover until the 3:33 mark of the first half. South Carolina, meanwhile, gave away the ball 10 times to that point, resulting in 10 Razorbacks points. The 10th turnover led to a breakaway dunk for Brazile that put Arkansas ahead by 16 with four minutes left in the half.

Early in the second, a 19-1 spurt by Arkansas all but ended South Carolina’s comeback hopes. The Razorbacks made seven straight field goals during the run and built the lead to 30 points. They ultimately hit 10 in a row before missing.

Arkansas’ 34-point win tied for the sixth-largest in an SEC game in school history and the team’s 108 points equaled its sixth-most in an SEC game.

Up next

South Carolina plays at Auburn on Saturday.

Arkansas visits No. 21 Georgia on Saturday.

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