FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.—Jimmy Whitt Jr. scored a game-high 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting to lead Arkansas to a 77-56 win against South Dakota Friday at Bud Walton Arena.
 
It was one of three Division I games Friday featuring two unbeaten teams. Arkansas improved to 5-0 by taking a 39-24 lead into halftime and not allowing the Coyotes to get closer than 10 in the second half.
 
South Dakota, the nation's leading three-point shooting team, made just 3-of-12 from beyond the arc in dipping to 5-1. The Coyotes were facing a Razorback defense that had allowed just eight made 3's through four games. Arkansas didn't fare much better from deep. The home team finished 4-of-20.
 
Tyler Hagedorn scored 13 of his team-high 15 points in the second half to pace South Dakota. Stanley Umude totaled 13 points and had a game-high eight rebounds. South Dakota shot 48 percent in the second half after hitting 10-of-30 in the first half.
 
South Dakota was held scoreless for more than six minutes in the first half which allowed Arkansas to build its lead. The Razorbacks increased a 17-11 advantage to 30-11 before Cody Kelley rattled off back-to-back layups for the Coyotes and Tyler Peterson added a put-back jam on a miss from Hagedorn.
 
Whitt had 10 points at the break and Arkansas made all four of its 3-pointers in the first stanza. The Razorbacks have held all five of their opponents to less than 25 points in the first half this season.
 
South Dakota climbed within 11 points on three separate occasions early in the second and brought it to 10 at 60-50 on a 3-pointer by Kelley with 7:45 to play. Whitt countered with a jumper, but Hagedorn made two free throws on the other end that made it 62-52 at the 7-minute mark.
 
But another USD drought, this one nearly five minutes, ended the Coyotes' comeback. Arkansas scored 13 unanswered including a jumper by Jalen Harris with 3:04 to go that made it 75-52. South Dakota managed just four points – another Kelley triple and a free throw from Peterson – in the final seven minutes.
 
Friday's game was the first of a season-long, four-game road trip for South Dakota. The Coyotes return to action Wednesday against California Baptist in Riverside, California.