NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Ole Miss got a basket at the buzzer, but the Rebels needed three points, not a putback.
The Razorbacks held on to beat the Rebels 73-72 Friday night in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals at Bridgestone Arena before an announced crowd of 14,227.
After the Razorbacks took a 73-70 lead on two free throws by junior guard Daryl Macon with 23.8 seconds left, Ole Miss missed 3 three-point attempts in the final 10 seconds -- two by Breein Tyree and one by Deandre Burnett -- before Justas Furmanavicius scored off a rebound as the clock ran out.
"It was the longest 23.8 seconds I've seen in a long time," Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson said of the Rebels' final possession.
Game sketch
RECORDS Arkansas 24-8; Ole Miss 20-13 STARS Arkansas junior guards Daryl Macon (17 points) and Jaylen Barford (13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) and senior guard Dusty Hannahs (13 points). Ole Miss sophomore guard Terence Davis (26 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists)
TURNING POINT Macon hit two free throws with 24 seconds left to put Arkansas ahead 73-70.
KEY STAT The Razorbacks hit 20 of 23 free throws compared with 8 of 14 by the Rebels.
UP NEXT Arkansas plays Vanderbilt at 2:30 p.m. today in the SEC Tournament semifinals in Bridgestone Arena.
-Bob Holt
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville advanced to play Vanderbilt in a semifinal game at 2:30 p.m. today.
Macon led Arkansas (24-8) with 17 points. Junior guard Jaylen Barford and senior guard Dusty Hannahs each scored 13 points for the Razorbacks.
"We're just glad to get the win," Anderson said. "I don't think Ole Miss lost. I think they just ran out of time."
Arkansas senior center Moses Kingsley had two of his four blocked shots in the final 58 seconds, including blocking Tyree's rebound attempt with 10 seconds left.
"Moses blocked it straight to Burnett, and he still got over in the corner to contest it, which was unbelievable," Hannahs said. "When he got up to contest that one, I knew we'd probably won the game."
Sophomore guard Terence Davis led Ole Miss with 26 points. Deandre Burnett, a junior, scored 16 points and Tyree, a freshman, scored 13.
"It was a hard-fought game," Rebels Coach Andy Kennedy said. "I'm disappointed we weren't able to advance.
"Arkansas made the plays down the stretch. We battled and put ourselves in position, we just couldn't quite make enough plays."
Macon and Hannahs combined to hit 8 of 8 free throws in the final 7:10, with each making four.
"We had the right guys shooting free throws," Anderson said.
The Razorbacks hit 20 of 23 free throws compared with 8 of 14 by the Rebels.
"I thought tonight the free-throw line won it for us," Anderson said. "You go 20 out of 23 and they go 8 out of 14, that's a big plus for us."
Making free throws helped the Razorbacks overcome shooting 36.5 percent (23 of 63) from the field. Ole Miss shot 37.8 percent (28 of 74).
"We didn't shoot the ball well," Anderson said. "We didn't play our best basketball. But I think the sign of a good team is you can still win when those circumstances show themselves."
Ole Miss came into the game having hit 652 of 867 free throws.
"We lead the nation in free throws made, and tonight not only were we not getting there like we normally do, but we weren't making them," Kennedy said. "We just don't have a very big margin for error. We can't leave those points on the table."
Arkansas led 71-70 when Barford missed on a drive with 33 seconds left and fell on the floor. Razorbacks forward Trey Thompson tipped the ball to Macon, who was fouled by Tyree.
"They take a shot and it's a 50-50 ball, and if we could have come up with that ball, not only do we have an opportunity to score in the open floor, but their point guard -- the guy that's supposed to be back for them -- is laying on the floor in the lane," Kennedy said. "But they came up with the ball."
Rebels senior forward Sebastian Saiz had 9 points and 17 rebounds.
Tyree hit a three-point basket to put the Rebels ahead 70-69 with 1:42 left, but Arkansas senior guard Manny Watkins scored on a layup with 1:28 left for a 71-70 Razorbacks' lead.
Tyree missed a three-pointer on the Rebels' next possession. Saiz got the rebound, but Kingsley blocked his putback attempt and Watkins chased down the loose ball.
Hannahs hit a three-point basket to give the Razorbacks a 67-64 lead with 4:44 left, but Davis hit 1 of 2 two free throws at the 2:20 mark to tie it 67-67 and set up the final stretch.
Tyree hit a 12-foot jumper with three seconds left in the first half to tie the game 40-40 at halftime after Barford stole the ball from him and dunked to put the Razorbacks ahead 40-38.
Tyree hit back-to-back three-pointers to help Ole Miss jump out to an 8-3 lead. Kingsley's three-point play pulled Arkansas within 8-6.
The Rebels went ahead 17-8 on Davis' three-pointer.
Arkansas outscored Ole Miss 13-3 over a 5:23 span, including eight points by Macon, and took a 21-20 lead on Macon's three-pointer with 10:47 left in the half.
Burnett hit two three-pointers to help Ole Miss take a 33-29 lead with 4:37 left in the half.
Arkansas went ahead 38-35 as Thompson scored on a three-point play, and Hannahs hit a reverse layup with an assist by Kingsley.
Davis' three-pointer tied it 38-38 with 1:17 left in the half.
Arkansas beat Ole Miss for the second time this season, including a 98-80 victory at Walton Arena on Feb. 18.
The Razorbacks and Commodores -- who beat Florida 72-62 in overtime Friday night -- split two regular-season games, which each team winning on the other's home court.
Arkansas rallied from 15 points down with less than six minutes to play the beat Vanderbilt 71-70 on Jan. 24 at Memorial Gym. The Commodores won 72-59 at Walton Arena two weeks later after jumping to a 25-4 lead.
"The last time we played them, they came and stole one at Bud Walton and really took the fight to us," Hannahs said. "We're excited to have another shot at them."
Sports on 03/11/2017