Overtime thriller
Macon catalyst as Hogs erase 9-point deficit in final 3:33.
FAYETTEVILLE — Given a second chance to help the Arkansas Razorbacks beat Tennessee, Daryl Macon made the most of it.
After missing a threepoint attempt with two seconds left in regulation, Macon scored 13 points in overtime as the Razorbacks beat the No. 19 Vols 95-93 on Saturday in Walton Arena before an announced crowd of 18,696.
“It got into my head like, ‘Come on,’ ” Macon said of his overtime heroics. “I know what ‘come on’ means. It means, ‘Let’s hoop.’
“So I had to take over a little bit. I had to give [his teammates] some help.”
Macon, a senior guard from Little Rock, finished with a career-high 33 points, surpassing the 30 he scored against Ole Miss last season. He hit 10 of 18 shots, including 5 of 9 three-pointers, and 8 of 8 free throws.
During the five-minute overtime period, Macon hit 3 of 3 shots and 6 of 6 free throws, including two with 7.4 seconds left to give the
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (11-2, 1-0 SEC) a 95-91 lead.
“That’s Daryl Macon,” Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson said. “I thought our guys did a good job of really going through him. He’s a very, very capable player — and he’s getting better.”
Macon scored on two driving baskets and hit a three-pointer for an 86-78 Arkansas lead with 1:13 left in overtime.
“He’s a guy that can get his shot off pretty much any time he wants to and can shoot it deep,” Tennessee Coach Rick Barnes said. “He does a good job of drawing fouls, too. Knows how to get himself fouled.”
Macon entered his name into the NBA Draft after last season — his first with the Razorbacks after transferring from Holmes (Miss.) Community College — but withdrew it and returned to Arkansas.
“I came back for this,” Macon said. “Sold out crowd at 12 p.m. That’s crazy.”
The crowd was especially into the game during the final 3:33 of regulation when Arkansas rallied from a 70-61 deficit.
“It was a big win, a great win,” said Razorbacks senior guard Jaylen Barford, who scored a career-high 28 points. “We had to dig deep to get this win.”
Barford had an assist on Macon’s three-pointer, made a steal that resulted in a rebound basket by freshman forward Daniel Gafford, and hit two free throws and a layup to pull the Razorbacks within 7271 with 1:37 left in regulation.
After a Tennessee missed shot, Gafford dunked with an assist from Macon to give Arkansas its first lead, 73-72, with 45 seconds left.
Sophomore guard Jordan Bone, who led the Vols (9-3, 0-1) with 21 points, hit 1 of 2 free throws with 18 seconds left to tie the score 73-73.
Anderson called timeout with 10.9 seconds left to set up a shot for Macon.
“I wanted the ball in his hands,” Anderson said. “Make a play whether he gets inside or gets to the free-throw line. I want the last shot.”
Macon’s three-point attempt bounced off the rim. Arkansas guard C.J. Jones had a tip attempt, but that bounced away, too, sending the game into overtime.
“We played well enough to win and hard enough,” Barnes said. “But we weren’t poised enough at the end of regulation.”
The Razorbacks improved to 8-0 in Walton Arena this season, but they were pushed to the brink for the first time at home after winning their previous games by an average of 25.6 points.
Tennessee led 38-31 at halftime and kept answering baskets by the Razorbacks, who couldn’t pull closer than three points until their surge at the end of regulation.
“We’d get right there, and then we’d miss a layup or not get a rebound or a loose ball,” Anderson said. “But we kept coming, kept coming, kept coming, and then eventually we got over the hump because of our defense.”
The Razorbacks extended their winning streak against the Vols to six games and now lead the series 20-19. Tennessee last beat Arkansas 74-69 on Jan. 13, 2015, in Knoxville.
Gafford had 15 points, 8 rebounds
and 5 blocked shots in his first SEC game, including a swat of a driving attempt by James Daniel with 1:42 left in regulation with the Vols leading 72-69.
Razorbacks senior guard Anton Beard scored 10 points and played a game-high 42 minutes.
Daniel scored 17 points off the bench for Tennessee. Admiral Schofield scored 16 points and Grant Williams added 12.
“We did enough to win the game,” Anderson said. “The time ran out on Tennessee. It literally did when you look at the score.”
Macon said he wasn’t nervous Arkansas might lose the game and that Anderson told the players what they needed to do during a timeout with 3:43 left.
“Coach just said we have to get multiple stops,” Macon said. “In practice, we work on three-minute periods like that, so it wasn’t anything new to us.
“We just had to come together and get stops and keep it going.”
Beating the Vols could put the Razorbacks into the national rankings when Monday’s polls are announced. Arkansas hasn’t been ranked since the end of the 2014-2015 season.
Macon paused for several seconds when asked about the possible ranking.
“Man, Coach doesn’t want me to talk about that,” Macon said. “But I have to say something. We work hard, man. I thought we should have been ranked a long time ago, but sometimes you have to show people.
“I have no problem with showing people. I came the juco route, so I have no problem showing whoever in this country.”