FAYETTEVILLE — Daryl Macon scored a game-high 23 points and Arkansas overcame its worst shooting performance of the season to beat old Southwest Conference rival Texas 77-74 in the Lone Star Shootout at Toyota Center.
Takeaways
Arkansas: The Razorbacks overcame sluggish shooting in the first half, hitting 27 percent from the field, including 1 of 9 from behind the arc. Arkansas shot 46 percent in the second half. The Razorbacks got their first win over a Power 5 conference team this season.
Texas: The Longhorns continued to struggle on the road this season, falling to 0-4 away from Austin. Texas played good defense, forcing the Razorbacks into 36 percent shooting, but the Longhorns got four points from their bench.
-AP
Macon made all 14 of his free throws, part of a 29 of 31 afternoon at the line for the Hogs, a performance that played a critical role in securing the win given they shot a season-low 36 percent from the floor.
"I mean, 14 for 14, that's crazy," Arkansas guard Dusty Hannahs said. "As a team going 29 of 31, that's where we won the game. I know they missed a lot of free throws and we didn't."
Texas made just 19 of 32 at the line and missed nine foul shots in the second half. Texas’ Kerwin Roach Jr. missed a difficult, fadeaway 3-pointer at the buzzer with Manny Watkins defending.
Hannahs added 15 points and hit three of the Razorbacks’ four 3-pointers. Jaylen Barford scored 11. Moses Kingsley only scored seven points on 2 of 8 shooting, but impacted the game in other ways, finishing with 10 rebounds and five blocks.
"He made a big difference in the second half," Texas coach Shaka Smart said. "He could have hung his head and kind of felt sorry for himself, because in the first half he didn't get much going. But I thought he made a big difference (in 2nd half). They got him the ball and he drew some fouls. I thought he was a difference-maker in the second half."
The Razorbacks (9-1) trailed for much of the game until an Anton Beard free throw gave them a 43-42 edge with 15:13 left. They stretched the lead to nine midway through the second half and then hit free throws down the stretch to hold on.
Tevin Mack scored a team-high 20 for Texas, leading all five starters in double figures. Longhorns 6-foot-11 freshman Jarrett Allen had 11 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks while using his length on the defensive end to frustrate Kingsley.
But Kingsley played better after halftime, which helped the Hogs rally and beat their old SWC foe.
"I never know about the rivalry until Coach A told us about it," Macon said. "He told us it was one of the biggest rivalries in history, so we wanted to come out and win."
"I grew up a fan of Arkansas," Hannahs said. "I still know Texas is a big rival of ours. I obviously didn't grow up during the Southwest Conference days, but I still know the history and what it's about. Even Coach Anderson was telling us about the history before the game. Letting us know it was going to be an intense game."