Zvonimir Ivišić powers Arkansas basketball’s 3-point breakthrough in win over Troy

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas basketball’s 3-point shooting came to life Wednesday night against Troy.

A 7-foot-2 center powered the breakthrough.

After opening the season 16 of 51 from long range, the No. 21 Razorbacks made 10 threes and shot 43.5% in a 65-49 win over the Trojans. Zvonimir Ivišić went 6 of 7 from behind the arc and shared the honors as leading scorer with Adou Thiero, who also scored 19 points.

“Well, it felt amazing. After a while, we started hitting some. Felt pretty good,” Ivišić said of Arkansas’ 3-point shooting. “That’s still not what we wanted. We needed to make more. Everybody else. But we’ll just keep working on it.”

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Ivišić made five of his 3-pointers in the second half, when the Hogs shot 63.6% from the floor and turned a one-point deficit at halftime into a comfortable, double-digit victory.

Ivišić came off the bench for the first time this season against Troy, and he chipped in five blocks to go along with his offensive outburst.

John Calipari said the sophomore didn’t ‘deserve’ to start after a poor game against Baylor Saturday. By the end of Wednesday night, Ivišić was the only big available. Trevon Brazile sustained an ankle injury in the first half and didn’t play in the second period, while Arkansas also held Jonas Aidoo out after halftime.

INJURY UPDATE: Trevon Brazile, Jonas Aidoo don’t play in second half versus Troy.

With the limited bodies, Ivišić might be forced back into a starter’s role, but he’s comfortable with his spot as the sixth man.

“I grew up playing with my twin brother and he was always starting. It was always kind of like, you know. I never started in my life,” he said. “National team, whatever, wherever I played, he was starting. I kind of got used to it. So now when I start and I got to go catch the ball, I got a little bit nervous.”

Nov 13, 2024;…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/zvonimir-ivi-powers-arkansas-basketballs-101002808.html

Author : Ft. Smith Southwest Times Record

Publish date : 2024-11-14 10:10:00

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