Zvonimi Ivisic leads No. 18 Arkansas to victory against Troy

No. 18 Arkansas rode a hot second half from Zvonimi Ivisic to beat a troublesome Troy team 65-49 in a non-conference home win on Wednesday night in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

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

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

Troy (2-1) used its 2-3 zone and thwarted the Razorbacks’ offensive flow. In the first half, Arkansas (2-1) airballed on its first possession due to a shot clock violation, missed two dunks, shot 29 percent from the field and made just two of 11 shots from 3-point range.

Despite 12 turnovers in the first half, Troy was able to maintain 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 second-half run to turn a one-point lead into a 10-point lead when Fland’s corner 3 in transition gave the Hogs a 48-38 lead with less than 11 minutes to play. Ivisic scored nine straight Razorback points on 3-pointers, increasing the Razorbacks’ lead to 57-43 with 5:26 to play.

Troy came into the game holding their opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from the field, and a Rigsby 3 allowed the Trojans to take 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 with 13:58 left in the first half.

An 8-0 run gave Arkansas its only lead of the first half, 18-16, on a jumper by Johnell Davis at 6:13. But Rigsby and Fields scored three points to put Troy back ahead 21-18.

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

–Field level media`