SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)—Patrick Beverley got off to a fast start for No. 18 Arkansas, and Sonny Weems did the rest.
Beverley had 16 points and seven rebounds to help the Razorbacks beat College of Charleston 75-49 Thursday night in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
Darian Townes added 11 points for the Razorbacks (2-0), who outrebounded the Cougars 53-27. Weems, Arkansas’ second-leading scorer last season, finished with 10 points and six rebounds, all in the second half.
“I thought Sonny was the best player on the court in the second half. When you play the game that way, you get rewarded for it,” said coach John Pelphrey, who took over at Arkansas in April after Stan Heath was fired.
The Razorbacks will meet Providence in Friday’s semifinals. The Friars beat Temple 66-64 earlier Thursday.
Dustin Scott scored 12 points for College of Charleston (0-2), which shot just 28.6 percent from the field.
The Razorbacks opened the game with a 16-2 run. Beverley started the surge with a 3-pointer.
The Cougars pulled within three late in the first half but Vincent Hunter made a 3-pointer and Gary Ervin scored to help Arkansas take a 33-25 lead at halftime.
The Razorbacks put together a 13-0 run early in the second half to take control of the game. Beverley got it started with a basket and two free throws, and finished it off with another hoop that made it 46-29 with 15:35 left.
College of Charleston coach Bobby Cremins expressed disappointment with his team’s rebounding effort.
“This is tough on our kids,” Cremins said. “Our team is young. I don’t want this to sound like an excuse, but we are.”
Beverley went 3-for-5 from 3-point range and finished 5-of-12 from the field overall for the Razorbacks, who committed 26 turnovers.
“We know we need to take care of the ball,” Beverley said. “Sometimes you have games like that.”
Pelphrey said his team had to improve its mental focus.
“It wasn’t a physical thing, it was a mental thing,” Pelphrey said. “I really doubt there will another game this year where (we) can turn the ball over that many times and win.”
