FAYETTEVILLE -- No. 21 Arkansas survived an upset attempt by Winthrop to take an 84-83 victory on Tuesday night in Bud Walton Arena.
Winthrop held a 83-78 lead on a basket by Logan Duncomb with two minutes remaining in the game. But Arkansas then held the visitors without any points the remainder of game. Nick Pringle made a basket with 1:13 remaining to make it 83-80. Darius Acuff Jr. added a field goal and then Pringle made another basket with 11 seconds remaining in the game. Daylen Berry missed a shot at the buzzer to try and win it. John Calipari was pleased to escape with the win.
"Give Winthrop credit," Calipari said. "Coach (Mark) Prosser had them ready to play and they did a great job defending us. They made 15 3’s. 15! Some of them were created. Others they made because guys got hot. They deserved to win the game. I’m happy we won. We made the plays down the stretch with the baskets inside. Darius ran the length of the court."
The game was tight the entire way. Arkansas' biggest lead was just eight points, 39-31, with 3:45 remaining in the first half. Winthrop's biggest lead was five points. The Razorbacks led 43-41 at intermission.
The game was decided at the free throw line. Arkansas shot 22 free throws making 20 of them. Winthrop only had six attempts making four of them. Arkansas also had 45 bench points to only 20 for the visitors.
Winthrop shot 50% from the field compared to 48 for the Razorbacks, Winthrop made 15 treys shooting 48% while holding the Hogs to 35%(6 of 17). Arkansas won the rebounding 33-30. The Hogs had eight blocks to two for Winthrop.
Meleek Thomas came off the bench to lead Arkansas with 26 points, while Trevon Brazile added 14 points and eight boards. Pringle added 13 points off the bench and seven boards. Acuff had a dozen points and five assists. Karter Knox had nine points.
Winthrop (2-3) was led by Kareem Rozier with 23 points and five assists. Kody Clouet had 16 points, Duncomb 13 and Berry 11.
Arkansas (4-1) will be at home again on Friday night to host Jackson State at 7 p,m. The game can be streamed on the SEC Network+.