The Arkansas Razorbacks (16-16, 6-12 SEC) came out on top in the first round of the SEC Tournament, winning a wild overtime game over the Vanderbilt Commodores (9-23, 4-14 SEC) by a score of 90-85.
In a wild turn of events, Arkansas overcame a 15-point second-half deficit to take the lead before a string of late-game turnovers allowed Vanderbilt to tie the game back up and send it to overtime. From there, the Hogs battled it out to survive and advance.
Arkansas’ comeback was fueled by the scoring efforts of backcourt duo Tramon Mark and Khalif Battle. After going scoreless in the first half, Mark went on a tear to finish with 18 points on 50% shooting. It was the Houston transfer’s huge four-point play that gave Arkansas the lead back with less than eight minutes to play.
“I just didn’t wanna lose,” Mark said. “That factored into my mindset…I just went out there and got it, and we were able to get the win.”
Battle led the team in scoring with 24 points and was able to attack the basket and draw fouls. He shot a remarkable 13-14 from the charity stripe, the most made free throws by a Razorback in an SEC Tournament game. Battle cited the team’s resilience after sleepwalking into a 41-27 halftime deficit.
“[Coach Musselman] told us we were playing soft, and we took it personal from there,” Battle said in his postgame interview. “He challenged a lot of the guys…It’s still March and anything can happen…my confidence never wavers…I’m a hooper and that’s what I do.
With the Razorbacks on the brink of having their season ended in an ugly fashion, Mark said that the team called an emergency players-only meeting at halftime to rally the troops, and that helped inspire the Hogs to a second-half comeback.
“It was definitely a fired-up locker room, especially after the coaches left,” Mark said on SEC Network after the game. “We had a players-only meeting and we just called each other out. Everybody had something to say and it was good, because we came out there in the second half with a chip on our shoulder.”
As for Battle, this marks his sixth straight game with at least 20 points. He also six rebounds, three assists and two steals in the game, plus seven of his points came in overtime.
"He was phenomenal," Musselman said. "We wanted to go to him. We've gone to him the last couple of weeks when we need a basket. We put the ball in T-Mark's hands too in certain stretches."
Up next, Arkansas will face the 5-seed South Carolina Gamecocks (25-6, 13-5) in the second round of the SEC Tournament. Tipoff at Bridgestone Arena will be 25 minutes after the conclusion of Mississippi State vs. LSU, which starts at noon CT.
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