Kansas City, Missouri – Chris Lykes made 10-of-10 free throws inside the final 1:46 to lead #12/13 Arkansas to a 72-64 victory over Kansas State on day one of the Hall of Fame Classic, played in Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center Monday night.
Lykes finished with 14 points, as did Connor Vanover. Au’Diese Toney added 13 while JD Notae scored 10 points and Stanley Umude had 10.
Arkansas led by as many as 18 late in the first half and took a 42-24 lead into the locker room.
K-State, which shot just 25.9 percent in the first half, made 46.9 percent of its shots in the second half to out-score the Razorbacks 40-30.
The Wildcats got to within eight (60-52) with 4:43 remaining, which was the first time K-State trailed by single digits since being down nine (17-8) with 12:26 left in the first half. Later, Arkansas used a 9-2 run to push its lead to 17 (30-13).
The Wildcats scored first to open the second half and used a 14-5 run in the second half to get to within nine. Notae made two jumpers in the lane and Toney had a layup to hold the Wildcats at bay. Nijel Pack sank to free throws with 1:53 left to cut the K-State deficit to six (62-54). From that point, Lykes made 8-of-8 free throws for the Razorbacks and pushed its lead to 10 (70-60) with 30 seconds left. K-State once again got to within six before Lykes sealed the win with two free throws with eight ticks left for the 72-64 win.
Arkansas will face Cincinnati on Tuesday for the Hall of Fame Classic championship. Tipoff is set for 8:30 pm (CT) on ESPN2.