Tigers roar late
Auburn erases 11-point deficit in final six minutes, wins in OT.
FAYETTEVILLE — The Razorbacks were rolling and Walton Arena was rocking.
It looked like the University of Arkansas men’s basketball team was going to get its biggest victory of the season when Jalen Harris dunked to give the Razorbacks an 11-point lead over No. 11 Auburn with 5:59 to play.
But the Tigers weren’t done.
Auburn rallied to force overtime and beat Arkansas 79-76 on Tuesday night before an announced crowd of 17,196.
“We didn’t quit,” Tigers Coach Bruce Pearl said. “We were down 19 at Ole Miss last Tuesday [and won 83-82 in double overtime]. So I think it speaks again to the effort, the energy and the character with our team to not give in, to not succumb to being down when we’re on the road.”
Auburn’s comeback ruined a 40-point game by Arkansas junior guard Mason Jones, who hit 12 of 24 shots and 11 of 16 free throws.
The Razorbacks (16-6, 4-5 SEC) played without starting sophomore guard Isaiah Joe, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Tuesday and is out indefinitely.
“Having Isaiah tonight, we probably win this game by 10 or 15, but we can’t make
excuses,” Jones said. “We were right there. We were up 11 with four or five minutes to go. We just have to close it out. This has nothing to do with Isaiah because he had surgery, but it’s on the team tonight. It’s on me.
“We had a good chance to get a good win tonight at the crib in front of a good crowd, and we just didn’t do that.”
Senior guard Samir Doughty led Auburn (20-2, 7-2) with 23 points. Senior guard J’Von McCormick had 16 points, and freshman forward Isaac Okoro had 14 points and 7 rebounds.
“I think there’s runs in every game,” Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said. “They made a run and the game went into overtime.”
Arkansas missed its final six shots in regulation, including a three-pointer at the buzzer by Harris after he caught a pass from Jones, to send the game into overtime tied 69-69.
“I thought [Jones] made the right decision,” Musselman said of giving up the ball. “He’s a willing passer. You think about the fact that Mason had five assists.
“He didn’t try to force anything. He got the ball to a guy that was wide open and unfortunately tonight, Jimmy [Whitt] and Jalen had really bad shooting nights.”
Whitt, who came into the game averaging 15.4 points, shot 0 of 7 from the field and was scoreless for the first time this season. Harris shot 2 of 9.
“I was just trying to make the best play for the team,” Jones said of passing to Harris. “I trust all my teammates. I’m never a selfish player where I feel I have to take the shot.
“I saw Jalen wide open, and I trust him as he trusts me. So I wanted to give him the shot of the game, and he had a good look.”
Pearl was glad Jones made the pass.
“Any time he gave the ball up, I was happy to see him give the ball up,” Peal said with a chuckle. “Any time. Because he’s either going to score or get fouled.”
Jones hit 1 of 2 free throws to give Arkansas a 70-69 lead with 4:12 left in overtime, but Auburn took the lead for good at 71-70 on Doughty’s two free throws.
The Tigers hit 8 of 9 free throws in overtime and held on to win when Jones missed an off-balance, desperation three-pointer guarded by Okoro at the buzzer.
“I kind of got in front of him, took a bump, and I wanted to get a shot up just to make sure we got a shot up,” Jones said. “I wish God would have put it in because it was so close to going in.
“Tough shot, tough game, good effort. But just not enough.”
Arkansas lost its third consecutive SEC game at home — including to No. 10 Kentucky 73-66 and to South Carolina 79-77 before Tuesday night’s game — for the first time since 2012, when the Razorbacks lost to Florida, Alabama and Ole Miss.
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” Musselman said when asked about the home losing streak.
“I thought the effort was phenomenal, and we lost a basketball game.
“I don’t care how many in a row it is. We lost to two really good teams, and we did not play very well against South Carolina and we lost by two points.”
Arkansas sophomore guard Des Sills scored 14 points before fouling out with 1:42 left in overtime. Senior forward Adrio Bailey had 11 points and seven rebounds.
“We were just trying to get the best shot,” Jones said of the Razorbacks struggling to score at the end of regulation. “The shot we were getting when you look out there was probably the best shot we could get at the time.
“So I can’t really complain about it. You’ve just got to go to the next play. We also made some good plays down the stretch, and we missed some shots down the stretch.”
Arkansas is 2-3 in SEC home games and 2-2 on the road.
“I really don’t even know how to answer that question right there, to be honest,” Jones said when asked about the Razorbacks’ three-game home losing streak in conference play. “It’s just the fact that it’s the SEC. It’s one of the best conferences in the world, and good teams go on the road and get good wins.
“Like we go on the road to other good SEC teams and we get dubs, they probably ask the same thing. So you never know what type of night you’re going to get from each team.”
Auburn improved to 3-0 in overtime games while Arkansas fell to 1-2.
“It’s clearly coaching,” Pearl said with a laugh. “No, it’s not. Depth, I’d say first and foremost. We play nine guys on a regular basis.
“I mean Arkansas had three guys play 40-plus minutes [Jones, Whitt and Sills], and we didn’t have anybody play 40 minutes. We had a couple of guys get close. I think that makes a difference. So that’s why I think we’ve been able to kind of wear people out.”