Positioned well: Hogs’ rally places history on their side

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Sixteen is a lot sweeter for the Arkansas basketball team this season.

With a game left to play in January at Oklahoma State on Saturday, the Razorbacks (16-4, 5-3) already have equaled their victory total from last season after beating Vanderbilt 71-70 on Tuesday night in Memorial Gym.

Arkansas finished 16-16 last season with a 68-61 loss to Florida in Nashville's Bridgestone Arena in the SEC Tournament.

"That was a tough season last year, especially coming up just short in so many games," Razorbacks senior guard Dusty Hannahs said. "To already equal our wins last year, it just shows the progress we're making,

"But we're not near done yet. We've still got a lot of other things to do."

Hannahs and senior center Moses Kingsley are the top returning scorers.

"We feel good, but we've still got to keep going," Kingsley said. "We want more. We're not satisfied."

This is the 17th time in the past 41 seasons the Razorbacks have started 16-4 or better through 20 games, and the previous 16 times they went to the NCAA Tournament -- starting in 1977 and most recently in 2015.

But several Razorbacks said after the Vanderbilt game that their focus isn't on the NCAA Tournament -- at least not yet.

"We don't want to think about anything in the future," Hannahs said. "It's one game at a time for us."

The Razorbacks staged their own version of the Music City Miracle against Vanderbilt after going 7:24 without scoring and trailing 58-43 with less than six minutes to play after the Commodores went on a 15-0 run.

"Everybody was attacking," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "When you're down, that's your mindset. You've got to get in attack mode defensively and offensively."

The Razorbacks scored on 13 of their final 14 possessions, starting with junior guard Daryl Macon's two free throws with 5:55 left.

Macon hit three free throws with 1.6 seconds left -- after being fouled by Joe Toye on a three-point attempt -- to put the Razorbacks ahead 71-70.

Nolan Cressler got off a shot near midcourt at the buzzer that bounced off the backboard and caught the front of the rim.

"With a pressing team like Arkansas, you've got to be consistent for 40 minutes because a two- or three-minute window can be the difference in the game," Commodores Coach Bryce Drew said. "Credit them for making those two minutes their best two at the end."

Hannahs scored 14 of his game-high 17 points in the final 4:38. He finished 0 of 6 on three-pointers, but he had five baskets on drives and hit 7 of 9 free throws.

"I thought Dusty really got aggressive in the second half, and we needed that," Anderson said. "On this team, we've got guys that have roles, and when they step into those roles, it takes a lot of pressure off everybody else."

Arkansas outscored Vanderbilt 13-6 in the final 1:54 with the help of two turnovers by the Commodores on steals by Kingsley and Jaylen Barford.

"We just stayed connected on defense and kept playing hard," Barford said. "We work on situations like that all the time in practice, and that really helped out a whole lot."

Hannahs said it's not uncommon for one set of players in practice to overcome a big deficit during situational scrimmage work.

"It's just a testament to our mindset," Hannahs said. "We've had some bad games and lost, but we're never going to give up. That's one thing about this team."

The Razorbacks have overcome larger deficits than 15 points to win SEC games.

Arkansas beat Alabama 65-63 in 2006 after trailing by 18 points and beat LSU 106-92 in overtime in 1992 after trailing by 16 points, but those victories came at home and the deficits were early in the second half.

The Razorbacks rallied from down 15 points to win 72-68 at Georgia in 2010 after trailing 37-22 at halftime.

Winning at Memorial Gym -- where Vanderbilt is 778-218 -- and erasing such a large deficit with so little time is a different matter.

"I think our guys are learning how to play with poise," Anderson said. "They're not panicking."

Arkansas is 3-1 in SEC road games, losing only at Kentucky, and came back from 13 down at Tennessee to win 82-78 and down 12 at Texas A&M to win 62-60.

"I don't even look at it being down 15 or down 13 or 12," Anderson said. "I look at it as, 'Where are we when we get to that four-minute mark? Are we in position where we can make some things happen?'

"It's like no lead is safe as long we've got time on the clock. That's something we preach to our guys."

Arkansas has won four consecutive games since losing to Mississippi State 74-68 in Walton Arena.

"I think it's just about staying focused and dialed in and being accountable," Barford said. "We've been clicking ever since the Mississippi State game.

"That loss woke us up and brought us back to reality. It showed we can't take anything for granted, that we have to fight and play hard every night."

Barford, Macon, Arlando Cook and Dustin Thomas are among the newcomers who have played in every game, along with returnees Hannahs, Kingsley, Anton Beard, Manny Watkins and Trey Thompson.

"I think there's no question we've improved, and that's what you want to do from year to year," Anderson said. "It's a credit to our guys, and I think it's a credit to our staff because we assembled players that fit what we're doing.

"These guys are buying into it, and they're playing for each other."

Late-charging Hogs

Vanderbilt used a 15-0 run, capped by two free throws from Riley LaChance, to take a 58-43 lead over Arkansas with 6:02 remaining Tuesday. Arkansas, held scoreless for 7:24, stormed back — without the aid of a made three-pointer — to outscore the Commodores 28-12 down the stretch. Arkansas made 14 of 15 free throws in the final 5:55, while Vanderbilt went 5 of 8 from the line in that stretch.

Here’s a play-by-play look at how the Razorbacks rallied for a 71-70 victory on Daryl Macon’s three free throws with 1.6 seconds left in the game.

Clock;Score (Ark-VU);Action

5:55;45-58;Daryl Macon makes 2 free throws after being fouled by Joe Toye

5:50;48-58;Manny Watkins’ back-court steal in the press leads to Moses Kingsley’s three-point play

5:39;48-58;Vandy freshman Payton Willis of Fayetteville misses 2 free throws

5:26;50-58;Jaylen Barford drives by Willis on the right block and scores on a layup

4:59;50-60;Matthew Fisher-Davis ends a 7-0 Arkansas run with a jumper

4:38;52-60;Dusty Hannahs drives the lane and makes a right-handed layup over Luke Kornet

4:11;52-63;Kornet pushes the lead to 11 with a three-pointer from the top of the key

3:59;55-63;Hannahs cashes in 3 free throws after being fouled in the left corner by Riley LaChance

3:44;55-63;LaChance misses a three-point shot and Kingsley rebounds

3:33;56-63;Hannahs goes 1 of 2 at the free-throw line after Fisher-Davis commits his fifth foul

3:07;56-63;Toye misses a contested shot in the paint and Macon rebounds

2:57;58-63;Watkins sinks a one-hand floater on the left block after Hannahs penetrates and passes

2:29;58-63;Kingsley blocks a shot by Jeff Roberson and Barford rebounds

2:23;58-63;Barford’s driving layup attempt bounces off the rim and out

2:21;58-64;Roberson makes 1 of 2 free throws after Watkins’ rebounding foul

1:54;60-64;Hannahs converts a driving left-handed layup over Kornet

1:36;60-66;LaChance sinks both free throws after a foul by Macon

1:30;62-66;Macon makes two free throws after a foul by Toye

1:25;62-68;Nolan Cressler hits a layup after a press-breaking pass by LaChance

1:18;64-68;Hannahs makes two free throws after being fouled on a drive by Cressler

0:57;64-70;LaChance goes 2-2 on free throws after a Watkins foul

0:49;66-70;Hannahs scores on a layup on a quick trip

0:23;66-70;Kingsley, who has switched onto LaChance, picks his pocket on the perimeter

0:20;68-70;Hannahs snares Kingsley’s outlet and scores on a layup

0:12;68-70;Vandy breaks pressure into the front court, but Barford corrals Kornet’s ill-advised pass

0:07;68-70;Hannahs misses a three-pointer from the left corner on a pass by Macon

0:03;68-70;Watkins tracks down the tipped-out rebound and dishes to Macon at the top of the key

0:01;68-70;Macon shoots an errant three-point shot but is clipped by Toye, who is called for a foul

0:01;71-70; After a delay to reset the game clock from 0.8 seconds to 1.6 seconds, Macon goes 3-3 at the line

0:01;71-70;Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson calls a timeout to set his defense

0:00;71-70;Cressler’s half-court heave hits the backboard and front of the rim and falls away

— Tom Murphy

Sports on 01/26/2017