After a poor shooting performance in the first half, Arkansas freshman point guard Boogie Fland flipped a switch in the second, which willed the No. 23 Arkansas Razorbacks (11-2, 0-0 SEC) to a 92-62 win over the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (4-10, 1-2 Horizon) on Monday night at Bud Walton Arena.
Fland finished the game with 24 points total — 23 of which came in the second half — to go along with six assists and two rebounds.
"My teammates found me, it changed the game," Fland said after the game. "Stuck to the gameplan, keeping intensity in the second half. First half was a little down, so we picked it up in the second."
It wasn't just Fland who struggled in the first half. The Hogs shot 57.1% and scored 42 points but only held a three-point lead at the break. There might have been some rust after taking an extended break for Christmas, as the Razorbacks turned the ball over nine times in the first half and Oakland was getting whatever it wanted inside.
But Fland's second half performance changed the narrative from what was a somewhat close game midway through the final 20 minutes into an all-out blowout.
It started with a layup with 16:43 left, then a midrange jumper before he nailed his first three of the game with 15:19 left. Just a little over two minutes later, he found his teammate, Jonas Aidoo, with a no-look pass that ended with a slam dunk.
The next time down the floor, Fland hit another midrange jumper and at that point, the game was mostly in the bag for the Razorbacks. Fland wasn't done, though.
With a little less than five minutes remaining, he hit a wide-open three. Then he hit another one. Then, he hit one more for good measure with a minute left in the game.
"Basically I’m not trying to force it," Fland said of his second-half performance. "The three ball is kind of like the game nowadays, so it started inside out. Keep playing the course of the game and I’m not trying to force it like that because it’s not going to work."
Fland's 24-point outing is a new career-high for the freshman and his 56.3% shooting form the field is the third-best in his young collegiate career so far.
The Hogs will need Fland to be that version of himself moving forward, as the schedule only gets more difficult with SEC play starting on Saturday. There's an air of confidence that comes from the former five-star, though.
"I feel like we can go far, be special," Fland said. "We have a great group of guys. We’ve got every position we need. I just feel like nobody can stop us if we keep staying the course and trusting what coach is doing. You know, coach has been through it. He’s laying the blue print out for us, we just got to go get it."
The Razorbacks' next test is a tough one, as they will hit the road to Knoxville, Tennessee, to face the No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday. Tipoff is set for noon and the game will air on ESPN.
