Zvonimi Ivisic sparks No. 18 Arkansas against Troy

No. 18 Arkansas rode a hot second half from Zvonimi Ivisic to overcome a pesky Troy team 65-49 in a nonconference home win Wednesday night in Fayetteville, Ark.

Ivisic, who scored 19 points and blocked five shots, provided a second-half spark off the bench, shooting 5 of 6 from 3-point range and scoring 16 points after the break. Adou Thiero also had 19 points and added seven rebounds, while Boogie Fland added 12 points.

Jackson Fields led Troy with 13 points, while Myles Rigsby added 12.

Using its 2-3 zone, Troy (2-1) stymied the Razorbacks’ offensive flow. In the first half, Arkansas (2-1) fumbled an air ball on its first possession for a shot-clock violation, missed two dunks, shot 29 percent from the field and made just 2 of 11 shots from 3-point range.

Even with 12 turnovers in the first half, Troy was able to hold a 27-26 lead at halftime. The Razorbacks caught fire from the field in the second half, shooting 64 percent from the field and 67 percent from 3-point range.

Arkansas used a 13-4 run in the second half to turn a one-point lead into a 10-point advantage as Fland’s corner 3 in transition gave the Hogs a 48-38 lead with under 11 minutes to play. Ivisic scored nine straight Razorback points on 3-pointers as the Razorbacks’ lead grew to 57-43 with 5:26 left in the game.

Troy entered the game holding opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from the field, and a Rigsby 3 allowed the Trojans to jump out to a 6-3 lead at the first media timeout. Rigsby hit a short jumper and converted the three-point play to give Troy an 11-5 lead at the 13:58 mark of the first half.

An 8-0 run gave Arkansas its only lead of the first half at 18-16 on a Johnell Davis jumper at the 6:13 mark. But Rigsby and Fields hit 3-pointers to put Troy back up 21-18.

Fland’s first point of the game came on a 3 that tied the game 21-21 with 3:32 left in the first half.

–Field Level Media`