Macon buckets: Arkansas guard goes for 30 off the bench

Daryl Macon and Dusty Hannahs of Arkansas celebrate as the Razorbacks close in on a victory over Ole Miss Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, during the game at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas guard Daryl Macon didn't realize he was so close to scoring 30 points Saturday against Ole Miss until teammate Manny Watkins spoke up.

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"Manny told me I had 27," Macon said. "He was like, 'I bet you won't get 30.' I was like, 'OK, bet.' "

It wasn't the day to bet against Macon.

Shortly after Watkins' challenge, Macon hit a three-point basket with 1:56 left as the Razorbacks rolled to a 98-80 victory over the Rebels before an announced crowd of 15,214 at Walton Arena.

Macon, a 6-3 junior from Little Rock Parkview, became Arkansas' 46th player to score 30 or more points -- in a combined 116 games -- and the first since senior guard Dusty Hannahs had 33 against Florida last season in the SEC Tournament.

Unlike most of the Razorbacks in the 30-point club, Macon did it off the bench.

The last Razorback to score 30 or more off the bench was Jannero Pargo, who scored 33 against Alabama on Jan. 30, 2002. Al Dillard scored 39 off the bench against Delaware State on Dec. 11, 1993.

Macon hit 10 of 13 shots, including 6 of 9 three-pointers, and 4 of 5 free throws in 24 minutes.

"That's what we're looking for," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "Efficient basketball."

Macon thanked the other Razorbacks.

"I have to give a big shout-out to my teammates for getting me the ball and helping me make this happen," he said. "I didn't do it on my own."

Macon scored 15 points in each half.

"Daryl Macon had a terrific night," Ole Miss Coach Andy Kennedy said. "From my vantage point, he made clean looks and then he made hard looks.

"He's a good player, and they've got a good team. They certainly were clicking on all cylinders offensively."

Macon's previous high this season was 23 points when the Razorbacks beat Texas 77-74 and he hit 14 of 14 free throws.

"He's a guy that's not just a great shooter, but I think he's got a great pace to his game," Kennedy said. "He never seems rushed and makes the right decisions."

Macon is in his first season at Arkansas after transferring from Holmes (Miss.) Community College.

"For a junior college kid, typically it takes a while to adjust to SEC pace," Kennedy said. "I think he's done a terrific job."

Macon came into Saturday's game averaging 13.2 points on the season and 10.2 in his past six games -- a stretch he started by going scoreless on 0-of-8 shooting in Oklahoma State's 99-71 victory over Arkansas three weeks ago.

Macon has totaled 60 points as the Razorbacks (20-7, 9-5 SEC) have won three in a row -- including 17 at LSU and 13 at South Carolina -- to bounce back from losses at Missouri and to Vanderbilt at home.

"I can say I'm playing into the system now," Macon said. "Being patient, not rushing. I had a few talks with Coach over the weekend, and he told me to just trust him, trust the system and it all would come.

"Just buy into the coaching. I feel like that's what I did tonight and these were the results."

Macon had plenty of help as Arkansas beat Ole Miss (16-11, 7-7) for just the fourth time in the teams' past 12 meetings.

Arkansas junior guard Jaylen Barford scored 15 points. Senior center Moses Kingsley had 14 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Junior guard Anton Beard had 11 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds without a turnover.

Razorbacks junior forward Trey Thompson had 8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocked shots and 3 steals. Hannahs had 9 points and Watkins, a senior guard, had 6 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.

"I like the collection of players," Kennedy said. "I think they've got a lot of offensive weapons, and then when Moses goes for 14, 13 and 4 blocks and was really, really efficient doing it, they're a good basketball team."

Ole Miss got 27 points from junior guard Deandre Burnett and 24 from sophomore guard Terence Davis, but couldn't match Arkansas' offensive firepower.

Kingsley and Thompson combined to help hold Ole Miss senior forward Sebastian Saiz -- averaging 15.2 points coming into the game -- to 8 points on 2-of-13 shooting.

"They're starting to figure out their roles," Anderson said of his roster as a whole. "It's good to see.

"I always say it's a process and our guys are starting to trust each other."

Macon helped key Arkansas' decisive run in the second half when the Razorbacks outscored Ole Miss 19-0 over a 4:20 span to push the Razorbacks' lead to 75-51 with 11:17 left after the Rebels had closed a 12-point deficit to 56-51.

Thompson scored the first basket of the run with a dunk on Macon's assist. Macon also hit two three-pointers during the stretch in which Kennedy twice called timeouts without being able to stem the Razorbacks' momentum.

"We just weren't very good defensively," Kennedy said. "We didn't give ourselves a chance on that end of the floor."

While Arkansas scored on 8 of 10 possessions, Ole Miss missed 10 consecutive shots and had 3 turnovers.

"We just came together and were like, 'Let's get some stops. Offense is going to come, let's get some stops, let's run the floor. Let's find each other,' " Macon said. "When you do those things, 19-0 run, that's what happens."

Macon has started 21 games this season and come off the bench six times, including the past four games. He said starting isn't important to him.

"I just want to play my role," he said. "My role is to score and play defense, so I'm going to play that role whether I come off the bench or not.

"I'm not big on starting. I was always taught it's whoever ends the game. It's not who starts the game."

Sports on 02/19/2017