Arkansas gets much-needed win at Missouri
On a night that they desperately needed a victory, the Arkansas Razorbacks (11-10, 2-6 SEC) secured a 91-84 win over the Missouri Tigers (8-13, 0-8 SEC) on Wednesday evening inside Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri.
In the absence of veterans Devo Davis (stepped away) and Trevon Brazile (knee), the Razorbacks were led by the efforts of Makhi Mitchell, Jalen Graham and Tramon Mark. Mitchell recorded a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds, Mark scored 22 points and Graham did it all with 12 points, four assists, four steals and three blocks.
The Razorbacks were money in the paint, as they out-scored the Tigers 56-30 down low. Arkansas shot 54.1% from the field, 66.7% from three and 80.8% from the free throw line against the Tigers.
Arkansas came out of the gate with a starting five that featured Layden Blocker, Khalif Battle, Mark, Chandler Lawson and Graham. That group got out to a 7-5 lead by the first media timeout.
Battle and Graham both knocked down their second shots respective over the next stretch of action, while Lawson and Mitchell got involved in the scoring to help the Razorbacks extend their advantage to 16-10 by the 11:56 mark in the first half.
While Arkansas wasn't exactly lighting things up offensively, it was locking down on defense by holding Missouri to a scoring drought that lasted 4:37 before the Tigers finally ended it with a jumper from Tamar Bates at the 9:27 mark that made it a 20-12 ballgame.
A three-pointer from Keyon Menifield Jr. made the Arkansas lead 25-12 and triggered a Missouri timeout with 8:22 to play. By that point, the Hogs were on a 13-2 run and Mitchell already had six points and four boards.
Missouri made it a nine-point game by the final media timeout of the first half, but Arkansas then went on a 13-2 run to secure a 47-28 lead at halftime. The Hogs shot 59.4% from the field in the first half, which was good for their best performance in conference play so far.
The Tigers opened the second half by matching the Razorbacks point for point by the first media timeout. Missouri even cut the Arkansas lead to 15 by the 13:31 mark, but the Hogs scored six straight over the next minute and the lead was quickly back to 20.
As Arkansas started to slow down offensively, the Tigers managed to claw back into things. Thanks the efforts of Tamar Bates (29 points), Missouri made it a 13-point game by the under-8 minute media timeout.
Both teams went four-plus minutes without a made field goal with under 10 minutes to play in the game, which naturally played in the favor of the Hogs, who had a big lead at the time.
Graham fouled out with 5:19 left to play and the Tigers made it an 11-point game shortly after. A pull-up jumper from Mark made the Arkansas lead 77-64 at the under-4 media timeout.
Mizzou made it an 11-point game again with a layup at the 33.9-second mark and a turnover by Blocker gave the Tigers the ball back and they hit a three to make it 89-81 with 17.4 seconds left. An Arkansas free throw later, Missouri knocked down another three to make it a 6-point game.
While it wasn't easy, the Hogs held on and prevailed with the 91-84 win on the road.
Up next, the Hogs will travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for a matchup against the LSU Tigers on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 11 p.m. CT and it will be broadcast on ESPN2.
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Box Score
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