Razorbacks win at College Station after 26 years

Texas A&M forward D.J. Hogg (1) attempts to hold on to a fumbled pass while Arkansas forward Arlando Cook (5) defends during an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017 at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas. (Timothy Hurst/College Station Eagle via AP)

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M's Reed Arena is no longer a house of horrors for Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson and the recent Razorbacks.

Arkansas held Texas A&M to one field goal over the final 9:39 and 38 percent shooting overall, and rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to trip the Aggies 62-60 on Tuesday before a crowd of 9,474.

ADVERTISEMENT

More headlines

Arkansas (14-4, 3-3 SEC) last won here 111-72 on Feb. 23, 1991, when both teams were in the Southwest Conference.

The Aggies (9-7, 1-5) fell to 7-3 at home. Admon Gilder, who led Texas A&M with 16 points, missed a last-second three-point shot.

"We played like an immature, undisciplined team, and that's my fault," Texas A&M Coach Billy Kennedy said. "I have to do a better job getting them tougher and tighter with the ball."

Daryl Macon led Arkansas with 16 points, while Moses Kingsley added 12, including a key putback that gave the Razorbacks the lead for good with 3:17 remaining.

Arkansas senior Manny Watkins, who ran the halls of Reed Arena as a grade-school kid while his father Melvin Watkins was the Aggies head coach, also played a key role. He made all three of his 3-point attempts for nine points and played sticky defense to force a missed jumper from D.J. Hogg that could have given Texas A&M a lead with about 10 seconds remaining.

"Oh yeah, this is special for me," Watkins said. "But getting a road win in the SEC is the most important thing. It's really hard to do."

The Razorbacks improved to 2-1 in SEC road games to even out a 1-2 record at Walton Arena.

Anderson had been 0-6 at Reed Arena, 0-3 with the Razorbacks.

"We're behind the eight ball when you talk about giving up two games at home," Anderson said. "So it was a big game from that standpoint.

"I was talking to Moses earlier today, and it was a place he hadn't won. I think he and those guys who played tonight, they're responsible for finding a way to win. I just try to stay out of the way during the game."

Arkansas took the lead at 61-56 as it outscored A&M 11-0 in a span of 3:35 late in the half to erase a 56-50 deficit.

"The key to winning this game was defense and then rebounding," Kingsley said. "The group that was in there when we made a run, they were defensive minded."

Kennedy said the Aggies settled for too many jump shots, noting that sophomore forward Tyler Davis, who took five shots, didn't get enough touches.

Kingsley started Arkansas' game-winning spurt with a three-pointer from the top of the key. Macon contributed 6 of 6 free-throw shooting during the run. Kingsley's tip-in, which put the Hogs ahead 57-56, came at the end of a possession in which Arkansas had three offensive rebounds.

Macon stretched the lead with four consecutive free throws before Hogg made two from the line for the Aggies.

Arkansas inbounded to the corner and Dusty Hannahs committed a turnover from a trap, and Hogg made two more free throws with 27 seconds left to make it 61-60.

Jaylen Barford missed two free throws for Arkansas with 26 seconds left, but the Aggies knocked the ball out of bounds after the second miss. Macon stepped on the sideline while dribbling away from pressure to give Texas A&M another possession.

However, Hogg missed a long jumper and Macon took control with a full head of steam before being fouled by Davis with 5.1 left on the clock. Macon made the first free throw but missed the second to set up Gilder's final heave.

Davis scored 14 points on 4 of 5 shooting, while freshman big man Robert Williams had 9 points and 10 rebounds.

Arkansas outrebounded the Aggies 36-32 after trailing in that department early in the game.

Texas A&M's only basket in the final 9:35 was a corner jumper from Tonny Trocha-Morlelos that made it 56-50 with 6:50 remaining.

"The difference in the game was our defense," Anderson said. "I thought our defense was good all the way through, especially in the second half. And we rebounded the ball."

Texas A&M built a 15-5 lead in the early going. Gilder made three 3-pointers to spark the early run, and Hogg finished it with a tip-in off a missed layup by JC Hampton at the 12:39 mark. The Aggies held a 10-4 advantage in rebounds at that point.

Arkansas fought back with good board work from Arlando Cook and better shooting after the Razorbacks' 2 of 10 start.

Hannahs started the run with a three-pointer from the right wing. Barford hit a high-arcing jumper in the lane, and Cook scored on a second-chance bucket and a jumper around a Macon layup as the Razorbacks pulled within 18-16.

Macon's 13-foot jumper tied the score, then a power move in the lane from Kingsley, his first points of the night, gave Arkansas a 20-19 lead at the 5:59 mark, its first since Barford's three-pointer opened the scoring.

Sports on 01/18/2017