HawgBeat - Arkansas falls at Texas A&M, 62-56
The Arkansas Razorbacks fell to the Texas A&M Aggies, 62-56, on Wednesday night.
arkansas.rivals.com
After scoring just three points in the final 5:54 of the game, the Arkansas Razorbacks (17-9, 6-7) dropped their second straight game with a 62-56 loss at the Texas A&M Aggies (19-7, 11-2) on Wednesday in College Station, Texas.
Arkansas had every chance it needed to win the game, but missed shots and critical turnovers resulted in its seventh loss of conference play. After leading 33-24 at halftime, the Razorbacks were outscored 38-23 in the second half.
Davonte Davis led the Razorbacks with 14 points in the contest, but he had two turnovers, four missed 3-pointers and three missed free throws in the final five minutes of the game. The Hogs turned the ball over four more times than the Aggies and they lost the battle on the boards 36-33.
Makhi Mitchell scored 11 points and added nine rebounds, while Anthony Black added nine points and eight assists in the contest. Arkansas shot 44% from the field and it was just 7-of-14 (50%) from the free throw line.
Here's a recap of Wednesday's loss to the Aggies, which resulted in an even split in the season series.
The first five minutes of the game featured quiet a bit, including a pair of technical fouls issued to Arkansas' Makhel Mitchell and A&M's Julius Marble for the two trading dead ball shoves. The Hogs nailed a pair of threes and added a layup from Makhi Mitchell to hold an 8-4 lead at the first media break of the game.
Makhel Mitchell scored the game's only basket over the next four minutes, giving Arkansas a 10-4 lead at the 11:03 mark in the first half. The biggest storyline by that point in the game was that Jordan Walsh was wearing No. 55 rather than his usual No. 13 jersey.
A three from Dexter Dennis ended a streak of 10 straight missed field goals for the Aggies and it brought them within four of the Hogs with just under 10 minutes to play. A 9-1 run from A&M tied the game at 11-11 with 7:59 left, and both Mitchell twins were on the bench with two fouls for Arkansas by that point.
Both teams went on a hot stretch offensively out of the under-8 timeout, as Arkansas hit six straight from the field and the Aggies hit four straight. Fortunately for the Hogs, a pair of their shots were threes from Davis that helped them control a 26-21 advantage by the final media timeout of the half.
The Hogs finished the first 20 minutes on a 12-5 run, and a buzzer beater three from A&M cut Arkansas' lead to 33-24 going into the halftime locker room. The Aggies were just 8-of-27 (29.6%) from the field in the first half and the Hogs had a 20-14 advantage in rebounds at that point.
Texas A&M opened the second half with two threes and a 3-point play courtesy of Makhel Mitchell's third foul. By that point, the Aggies had trimmed the Hogs' lead to 35-33 and the fans inside Reed Arena were getting loud.
Wade Taylor IV hit his second three of the second half — on top of his 3-point play — and then he added a layup to put the Aggies up 38-37 and trigger an Eric Musselman timeout less than four minutes into the second half.
What was already a physical game became more physical over the next few minutes, and both defenses battled to keep it at a 42-42 game with 11:37 to play. Nine different players had at least two fouls by that point, and Makhel Mitchell had a game-high four.
A 7-0 run by the Razorbacks, featured by a transition slam from Black, put them ahead by five and led to a timeout from A&M coach Buzz Williams with just over nine minutes left.
Who else but Taylor to drill a deep three out of the under-8 timeout to tie the game at 51-51. The Aggies didn't hit another field goal over the next 3:29 until Dennis hit a put-back layup to give them a 2-point lead right before the final media break of the half.
A steal from Davis turned into a foul in transition, but he missed both free throws to go to 0-of-3 from the line in the game and Jordan Walsh drew his fifth foul of the game in the same sequence.
Henry Coleman III hit a layup and Dennis knocked down a pair of free throws down the stretch to extend the Aggies' lead to 59-53 with 23 seconds to play. As Arkansas was looking to score quickly, Davis turned the ball over on the inbounds pass and Black was forced to foul.
Dennis two more freebies, and Black countered with a 3-point play to make it 61-56 with 12 seconds left. By that point the game was out of reach and the Davis missed a three at the buzzer.
Up next, the Hogs will host Florida on Saturday at Bud Walton Arena for a 1 p.m. CT tipoff. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
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