FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- — Justin Smith scored 18 points, JD Notae added 16 and Arkansas never trailed Saturday night in a 69-54 win over North Texas.

The Razorbacks (2-0) opened the second half with a 9-0 run to build their largest lead of the game at 47-27.

The Mean Green (1-1) had runs of 7-0 and 9-0 and cut the deficit to 10 shortly after the midpoint of the second half. But Smith and Notae each made a 3-pointer during Arkansas’ 12-3 run to get the lead to 67-48 with 3:47 left.

Connor Vanover had a career-high 16 rebounds to go with six points and six blocks. Desi Sills had 14 points and Moses Moody scored 11 for Arkansas.

The Razorbacks had a 40-36 advantage on the glass.

Terence Lewis II scored 12 points and Zachary Simmons added 10 for North Texas, which was 2 of 13 from 3-point range.

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