Boogie Fland gives Arkansas the win while Miami squanders the lead

Boogie Fland gives Arkansas the win while Miami squanders the lead

NCAA Basketball: Arkansas at Miami (FL)December 3, 2024; Coral Gables, Florida, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Boogie Fland (2) shoots the basketball against the Miami Hurricanes during the first half at Watsco Center. Mandatory attribution: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Freshman Boogie Fland hit the go-ahead 3-pointer as Arkansas – which didn’t take the lead until the final two minutes of the game – beat host Miami 76-73 in an SEC/ACC Challenge game on Tuesday night in Coral Gables . Fla.

Miami led by as many as 11 points in the first half.

Arkansas (6-2) got 18 points and six assists from Fland. DJ Wagner added 14 points.

The Hurricanes (3-5), who lost their fifth straight game, got 22 points, six rebounds and six assists from Nijel Pack, who missed Miami’s previous game with a foot injury.

Miami reserve Matthew Cleveland scored 15 points and 10 rebounds. He also made a spectacular move in the second half with a one-handed rebound and dunk, all in one movement.

Razorbacks 7-foot-2 center Zvonimir Ivisic — normally a starter — suffered an ankle injury in practice and was placed on reserve. He finished with 11 points and made three of four 3-point attempts.

Miami gave freshman Austin Swartz his first career start by benching senior Jalen Blackmon. Swartz finished with seven points. Blackmon had 12 points.

Blackmon, however, had a chance to send the game into overtime, but he shot an aerial three-pointer at the buzzer.

Miami led 40-32 at halftime, but Arkansas went on a 7-0 run in the second half to cut its deficit to 49-47 with 14:07 left.

After Miami pulled away again, Arkansas went on an eight-point run and finally took the lead for the first time with Fland’s three-pointer in the right corner. That gave Arkansas a 74-71 lead with 1:47 left.

Pack cut the deficit to one with a layup, but Fland responded with a 2-pointer as Miami missed its last two shots and nine of its last 12.

Arkansas had some trouble early on, throwing the ball away on its first two possessions. Later in the half, Arkansas freshman Billy Richmond III stole the ball in the middle of the court and was on his way to an easy dunk when he dribbled the ball away from his body and out of bounds.

Pack led all scorers in the first half with 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting. Cleveland had 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting. Miami shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half.

Arkansas had no double-digit scorers in the first half and shot just 41.9 percent.

–Field level media

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