FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -Michael Sanchez had a double-double and Arkansas held off a late California-Davis rally to claim a 68-59 victory Thursday.
Sanchez scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead four Arkansas players in double figures. Freshman point guard Courtney Fortson led the Razorbacks (2-0) with 16 points, Stefan Welsh added 14 and Michael Washington scored 11.
The Razorbacks led by larger margins in the first half as Fortson sparked a charge that turned a 6-point lead into a 13-point margin over a span of 3:31. Fortson had 9 of Arkansas' 11 points over that span, capped by a 3-pointer from the left wing at the 3:58 mark. Arkansas led 36-27 at the half.
UC-Davis (1-3) chipped away at the lead in the second half. The Aggies nailed back-to-back 3-pointers with just over 16 minutes left, then got the deficit down to single digits at 44-37.
Harden led the Aggies with 16 points and Mark Payne added 11.
