Hog guard goes down in 2nd half

Daryl Macon’s status for Sunday’s final game at the Phil Knight Invitational is up in the air after the senior guard sustained an apparent right ankle injury in Arkansas’ 87-68 loss Friday to No. 9 North Carolina.

Macon went down with the injury with 14:55 remaining in the second half after he drove to the baseline and stepped on North Carolina forward Luke Maye’s foot, twisting his ankle in the process.

He didn’t return to the game.

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Coach Mike Anderson didn’t elaborate on Macon’s injury after the game.

“I couldn’t be at liberty to say what it is right now,” Anderson said. “… I’ll find out. I don’t know right now.”

Macon stayed on the floor for an extended period after sustaining the injury as trainer Dave England and Anderson checked on him. When he did stand up, he slowly walked off the court under his own power with a pronounced limp.

He immediately went to the locker room and was visibly upset, yelling and slapping a door as he exited the court area. Less than 10 minutes later, he briefly rejoined the team on the bench, walking back onto the sideline with less of a limp.

A few minutes later, Macon headed back to the locker room, jogging slowly with a noticeable limp.

Macon had an offshooting performance before sustaining the injury, scoring 7 points on 2-of-11 shooting in 23 minutes. He still ranks second on the team with an average of 16.4 points per game.