FAYETTEVILLE — Head coach Eric Musselman and the Arkansas fans at Bud Walton Arena watched with frustration for almost all 40 minutes of the Razorbacks' (10-8, 1-4 SEC) 77-64 loss to South Carolina on Saturday.
The Gamecocks entered the game with a top-40 scoring defense in the nation, but it was their offensive dominance — specifically in the paint — that was put on display against the Razorbacks.
South Carolina shot 51.9% from the field as a team and it out-rebounded Arkansas by 12 on the day. The Gamecocks logged 20 team assists and forward B.J. Mack led the way with 18 points and nine rebounds.
Guard Tramon Mark led the Hogs in scoring with 18 points after his heroic effort Tuesday against Texas A&M. The Hogs shot 37.1% from the field and 27.8% from three while logging just nine team assists and four steals.
South Carolina came out of the gate with an aggressive mentality on offense, while Arkansas started sluggishly. By the first stoppage of play at the 14:10 mark, the Gamecocks held a 13-6 lead over the Hogs, who had scored all six points in the paint to that point.
After missing the previous game against Texas A&M (coach's decision) guard Khalif Battle finally checked in after the under-12 minute media timeout with the Hogs down 17-10. He was unable to provide an offensive spark like he did early in the year, and the Hogs slowly fell behind by even more.
An easy drive and dunk from Collin Murray-Boyles at the 6:15 mark triggered Eric Musselman's second timeout within the span of 29 seconds and the Head Hog was furious with his team down 29-19.
Arkansas ended a scoring drought of more than three minutes with a Makhi Mitchell layup at the 41-second mark in the first half, but a pair of free throws from South Carolina's B.J. Mack made it a 39-27 deficit for the Razorbacks at the halfway point.
Mack scored 12 points and hit a trio of threes in the first half, while the Hogs were minus-11 on the boards, with 11 ironically being the same number of shots they made in the first half.
The fans at Bud Walton Arena rose to their feet after back-to-back Tramon Mark threes made it a 49-42 deficit and South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris wanted a timeout with just under 13 minutes to play.
South Carolina responded to Mark's mini-run with a 15-3 run to make the lead 19 by the 8:50 mark, which is when fans really started to hit the exits.
None of the fans who left early missed anything, as Arkansas was unable to mount a comeback. Though the Hogs were outscored by just one in the second half, they lost by 13 in the game to fall to 1-4 in conference play.
Up next, Arkansas will hit the road for a matchup against Ole Miss at 8 p.m. CT Wednesday in Oxford, Mississippi. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
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