College basketball: Battle, Brazile help Arkansas upset No. 7 Duke

Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Khalif Battle scored 21 points, while Trevon Brazile chipped in 19 to lead unranked Arkansas to an early season upset of No. 7 Duke in the ACC/SEC Challenge in Fayetteville, Ark.

The Razorbacks (5-3), who played without injured leading scorer Tramon Mark, shot 49.1% from the floor and 40.9% from 3-point range in the 80-75 victory Wednesday at Bud Walton Arena. They held the Blue Devils (5-2) to a 35.8% clip from the floor, including just 27.3% from downtown.

"We knew we had to have this," Brazile told reporters. "There was no option, we had to win this game. That was kind of the vibe in our locker room.

"Everybody was excited to play."

The lead changed hands several times throughout the first half before senior guard Jeremiah Davenport hit a 3-pointer with 24 seconds remaining in the frame to give the Razorbacks a 33-32 lead at the break.

Brazile led all scorers with 11 points over the first 20 minutes. The redshirt sophomore forward made 4 of 5 shots and grabbed six rebounds. The Razorbacks held Duke sophomore center Kyle Filipowski to just three points in the first half.

The Razorbacks, never trailed in the second half, used a 16-4 run to push their advantage to 60-47 with 9:31 remaining. The Blue Devils later used a 12-4 run to cut the deficit to just three points with 17 seconds remaining, but could not complete their rally.

Battle, who came off the bench, scored 15 points in the second half. Filipowski scored 23 points for the Blue Devils over the final 20 minutes. Duke guard Jeremy Roach logged 22 points in the loss.

"We came out flat in the second half," Roach said. "First four minutes of the second half, those are crucial moments in the game, and that's when they kind of went on their run. ... And then we were scratching and clawing, trying to get back in the game.

"But the first four minutes are the most crucial point in the game. It determines wins and losses, and it did [Wednesday]."

The Blue Devils will face Georgia Tech at 2:15 p.m. EST Saturday at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta. The Razorbacks will host Furman at 8 p.m. Monday in Fayetteville.