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FAYETTEVILLE — Julyssses Nobles had a point to prove to his home state.
Nobles scored a career-high 24 points as Arkansas opened Southeastern Conference play with a 98-88 win over Mississippi State on Saturday night.
Nobles, a Mississippi native, scored 15 in the first half as the Razorbacks (12-3, 1-0 SEC) forced 11 turnovers and opened a 43-37 halftime lead. The junior finished 7 of 11 from the field, including 4 of 7 on 3-pointers.
Arkansas freshman BJ Young helped open a 20-point lead and close out the Bulldogs, scoring 18 of his 24 points in the second half. Young scored 10-straight points at one point for the Razorbacks, who scored 23 points off 18 Mississippi State turnovers.
DeVille Smith led the Bulldogs (13-3, 0-1) with 25 points, while Dee Bost added 21 and Rodney Hood 17.
Mississippi State overcame a nine-point deficit in its last outing, a 66-64 win at home over Utah State on Dec. 31. However, the Bulldogs had no answer in the second half against an Arkansas team in search of its first signature win under first-year coach Mike Anderson.
The Razorbacks shot 57 percent (35 of 62) and led by as many as 20 points in the second half, and they did so in the frenetic, pressing style made famous by Anderson's mentor, former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson.
Leading the way was Nobles, one of the most unlikely suspects entering the game for the Razorbacks. The Jackson, Miss., native was averaging only 6.6 — only five per contest over his last seven games — and came off the bench in Arkansas' last game.
Nobles returned to a starting role against the Bulldogs and ignited the season-high crowd of 12,200 in Bud Walton Arena in the first half. He hit three 3-pointers in the half, also connecting on all four of his free throw attempts, and his last trey of the half gave the Razorbacks a 39-29 lead.
Young, no stranger to big performances in big games this season, had his time in the spotlight in the second half. The freshman, who scored a career-high 28 points in an earlier loss at defending national champion Connecticut, came off the bench to help the Razorbacks push their lead to 19 early in the half.
He did so with his run of 10-straight points for Arkansas, including a pair of 3-pointers, as the Razorbacks took a 66-47 lead.
The Bulldogs closed the lead to 11 at 79-68 after a trio of free throws by Smith, but that was as close as they would get until the closing minute.
