Hall takes moment, then excels

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas Razorbacks freshman Darious Hall didn’t score in his opening stint of 4:22 in his first college start Saturday.

The 6-6 forward from Mills made up for it in his second run during the Razorbacks’

65-63 victory over Missouri.

Hall went on a scoring binge seven-and-a-half minutes into the game, helping the Razorbacks stretch a 10-7 lead into an 18-7 advantage that eventually grew to 28-10, the Hogs’ largest lead of the game. Hall had a personal 8-0 run by making four consecutive shots.

“It’s probably his best game all year,” senior guard Daryl Macon said. “He brings a lot of energy. He plays like it’s his last game every time. I’ve got to give it to him, he played awesome tonight.”

Trey Thompson fed Hall from the post for consecutive layups 40 seconds apart, then Macon hit him on the right baseline for a dunk at the 11:17 mark. Hall capped the spree with a layup on a pass from Arlando Cook.

“He’s an energy guy,” fellow Arkansas freshman Daniel Gafford said. “I walked up to him before the game and said, ‘Since this is your first time starting you’ve got to go out and give it your all. You’ve got to leave it all on the court.’ And that’s what he did.”

Missouri Coach Cuonzo Martin said Tigers’ senior Jordan Barnett didn’t have a good enough presence on Hall.

“Good athlete, good frame on him, slashes to the basket and got layups,” Martin said. “I don’t think he had a presence on him for him being a young guy in his first start, so I think we allowed him to get his head up and he played well.”

Hall