Arkansas News Bureau
Arkansas had a chance to hold onto its one-game lead in the Southeastern Conference Western Division when it stepped on the court at Auburn on Saturday night.
But much like last week, the Razorbacks left the state of Alabama having to settle for a share of the top spot.
Auburn avenged its overtime loss in Fayetteville earlier this month by getting big buckets and key stops down the stretch to beat the Razorbacks 92-83 in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum on Saturday. The Tigers (13-14, 4-8 in SEC), who got a game-high 29 points from guard Tay Waller and 17 more from guard DeWayne Reed, finished the night on a 13-4 run over the final three minutes to hand Arkansas its second straight road loss.
“We weren’t able to guard them very well,” Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said during his postgame radio interview. “They shoot 60 percent for the game. We just needed to be better than that.”
Arkansas had its chances to complete a season sweep of Auburn, but couldn’t get it done in the second half of a up-and-down game that saw several ties and lead changes after the break.
The last came at the 2:59 mark when Arkansas guard Marcus Britt followed a Rotnei Clarke miss with a layup to tie the game at 79-79. However, Auburn came out of a timeout and took control after that by scoring the next seven points to finish the Hogs.
Auburn — which has relied on 3-point shooting this season — went 11 of 19 beyond the arc Saturday. Waller was 7 of 10. The Tigers also made 28 of 46 percent from the field (60.9 percent) and 25 of 33 (75.8 percent) from the free-throw line.
The Razorbacks weren’t bad offensively, knocking down 50 percent (33 of 66) from the field in the loss. Forward Marshawn Powell led Arkansas in scoring once again with 23 points, while Clarke and point guard Courtney Fortson each added 16.
But Arkansas’ defense left Pelphrey frustrated Saturday, even though the Hogs recorded 11 steals and forced 19 turnovers.
“The defense wasn’t totally non-existent,” he said. “It just wasn’t good enough at the right times on the road to get a win.”
The loss means the Razorbacks (14-13, 7-5) are now tied with Mississippi State (19-8, 7-5) for first in the SEC Western Division standings with four games remaining.
The Bulldogs survived a scare at LSU earlier in the day, getting a late 3-pointer to keep the Tigers winless in SEC games.
Arkansas will try to hold onto at least a share of the division lead when it travels to LSU on Wednesday.
“We’re still in first place after (Saturday night),” Pelphrey said. “Unfortunately, there’s somebody there with us.”
Information from television and radio broadcasts contributed to this report.
