Arkansas sophomore guard Joseph Pinion was nearly perfect from the floor Wednesday night, pouring in a game-high 20 points, to rally his Red squad to an 88-70 victory in the annual Red-White intersquad game, in front of nearly 6,000 fans at legendary Barnhill Arena.
The 6-foot-5 Morrilton native – one of just five returning scholarship players – hit 7 of 8 shots from the floor, including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.
“We really just shot the right shots,” Pinion said afterward. “Our transition offense was pretty good. We were getting out and we were running, And I felt that was the key.”
The contest started slow, with both teams unable to find the range, until Cincinnati grad-transfer guard Jeremiah Davenport drilled a 3-pointer on the game’s fifth possession. Louisville grad-transfer point guard El Ellis then quickly answered with a coast-to-coast layup.
“It felt really good to just get out there for my first time, playing it front of the fans here at Arkansas,” Ellis said. “That just felt really good.”
Davenport, who led the White team with 19 points, then hit two more treys before the end of the first quarter, as his White squad led 23-15.
A jumper from 5-Star freshman Baye Fall, followed by a driving layup by junior Houston-transfer Tramon Mark, gave the White team its largest lead of the night, 29-17, midway through the second quarter.
But that’s when the spark was lit for the Red team, who proceeded to go on a 12-0 run to tie the score at 31-31 on a dunk by Southern Miss grad-transfer Denijay Harris with 2:24 left in the first half.
A three by Pinion finally gave the Red team its first lead, 36-35, less than a minute later. The teams went to the intermission tied at 41-41.
Both squads continued to trade baskets throughout the majority of the third period, before the Red ran off seven straight points, capped by Memphis grad-transfer Chandler Lawson’s slam dunk, on an assist from returning senior Jalen Graham.
Another dunk by Ellis and five straight points from senior Devante Davis, began to stretch the Red’s lead early in the fourth. Davis, who finished with 13 points, followed with a three midway through the period to put the Red up 75-59 with 5:12 remaining in the game.
After a layup by Pinion and a dunk by Graham, Davis hit his second triple of the night, to put the Red up by 23 late in the game.
Ellis finished with 16 for the Red, while leading the way with six assists. Graham added 15 points, with Lawson turning in a double-double, with 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Fall and returning senior Makhi Mitchell, each had 13 points for the White squad. Mitchell added a team-high five rebounds.
“First of all, the crowd was awesome,” Head Coach Eric Musselman said. “I think the guys felt that, even pre-game. But a lot of things that we need to clean up, we need to get better. But they are all things that we think are teachable.
“Our shooting will obviously allow us to stretch the defense out more than we have in the past.”
The Red team shot 69 percent from the floor, while the White connect on 55 percent.
“I’m really pleased with our shooting,” Musselman said. “Pretty pleased with how the flow of the offense was. We’re running an offense that we ran for about 10 games, two years ago. That’s what Milwaukee (Bucks) ran two years ago. It requires a lot of thinking and a lot of reading. And I am pretty happy with how far advanced the guys are with that.
“Obviously, we’ve got to get a lot, lot better. Some of the guys are a lot more advanced on knowing this than others, but that will hopefully come, over time.”
The Hogs were without 6-foot-10 forward Trevon Brazile, who continues working his way back from last season’s torn ACL injury. Musselman announced last week that the redshirt-sophomore was still about two and a half weeks away from returning to full live action, which should have him back by the first exhibition game against the University of Texas-Tyler on Oct. 20.
Brazile, who transferred in from Missouri before the 2022 season, played in just nine games for the Hogs, leading the team in rebounds and blocked shots to that point, while averaging 12 points per game. He went down in the first half of the UNC-Greensboro game, when his knee buckled while making a cut to the basket.
The Razorbacks were also without Temple grad-transfer Khalif Battle, the 6-foot-5 guard, who appeared to get injured during pregame warmups. After walking off the court gingerly shortly before tip-off, he later returned to the court on crutches, in street clothes, with his right foot in a boot.
After the exhibition against UT-Tyler, Arkansas will host Big 10 power Purdue in a charity exhibition at Bud Walton Arena on Oct. 28. The Razorbacks will open the regular season at home against Alcorn State on Nov. 6.
