FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas Razorbacks were desperate for a victory at home after losing back-to-back road games.
The Razorbacks got it as they beat South Carolina 81-65 on Tuesday night in Walton Arena before an announced crowd of 7,089.
Icy roads kept the crowd down, but the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville players made sure the fans in attendance had plenty to cheer about.
"The fans that were here, I think they were treated to some pretty good basketball," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "It was a good team win. Our guys rose to the occasion."
Senior guard Daryl Macon led the Razorbacks (16-8, 5-6 SEC) with 25 points, 4 assists and 3 steals. He hit 12 of 13 free throws and scored 20 or more points for the sixth consecutive game.
Razorbacks senior guard Jaylen Barford scored 24 points. He hit 5 of 9 three-point attempts.
It was Arkansas' first SEC home game in 17 days, since a 97-93 victory over Ole Miss on Jan. 20.
"It felt good to be back at home," Macon said. "It's been forever, it seems like. Even though the crowd was down tonight, whoever was here still helped us. It was still loud tonight.
"We just came out and played as a team, played good defense and came out with the win."
Arkansas freshman forward Daniel Gafford had 11 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
Sophomore guard C.J. Jones had 7 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist, and senior forward Trey Thompson had 6 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
"Great to see a good defensive effort by our team for the entire game," Anderson said. "We started off the game playing defense, and we finished the game playing defense."
South Carolina (13-11, 4-7) had 18 turnovers and was called for 23 fouls as the Razorbacks hit 23 of 29 free throws.
"You can't foul 23 times and turn it over 18 and expect to win any game, let alone an SEC road game," Gamecocks Coach Frank Martin said.
Junior guard Hassani Gravett led South Carolina with 12 points. Freshman forward Justin Minaya and junior guard Kory Holden each scored 11 points for the Gamecocks.
The Razorbacks improved to 12-1 in Walton Arena this season and handed South Carolina its fourth consecutive loss since the Gamecocks won at Florida.
"To me, that's the team I saw earlier in the year," said Anderson, referring to the Razorbacks' 11-2 start. "So it's good to see us resemble that team tonight."
Arkansas outscored South Carolina 26-11 in points off of turnovers and 12-7 in second-chance points.
The Gamecocks, who came into the game with a 14.1 rebounding margin in SEC games to lead the conference, only outrebounded the Razorbacks 33-29.
Arkansas improved to 19-13 all-time against South Carolina since both teams joined the SEC for the 1991-1992 season.
The Razorbacks outscored the Gamecocks 16-8 to open the second half and take a 59-46 lead with 13:22 left.
Macon started the run by hitting a three-point basket and passing to Gafford for a dunk.
The Razorbacks also got a three-point basket from Barford, Macon hit two free throws and Jones capped the run with a three-point play.
South Carolina pulled within 60-54 on Felipe Haase's three-point basket with 10:25 left.
The Razorbacks responded with a 13-2 run, including six points by Macon, to push their lead to 73-56 with 6:09 left. Barford and Gafford capped the run with dunks.
"We couldn't pass the ball from the point to the wing," Martin said. "It had nothing to do with their full-court press.
"I don't think we turned it over but twice against the full-court press. It's just guys couldn't dribble the ball, couldn't pass it point to wing. We had two guys that had the ball in their hands and they just took it from them.
"Then all we did was foul."
South Carolina shot 1 of 6 and had four turnovers during the Razorbacks' run that put the game away.
"It was just defensive stops and getting into transition, getting open shots and finding each other, making plays for each other," Barford said. "That's just something we need to do more, that we can do more."
Game sketch
RECORDS Arkansas 16-8, 5-6 SEC; South Carolina 13-11, 4-7 STARS Arkansas senior guards Daryl Macon (25 points) and Jaylen Barford (24 points) TURNING POINT The Razorbacks outscored the Gamecocks 13-2 to take a 73-56 lead with 6:09 left. KEY STAT Arkansas hit 23 of 29 free throws. UP NEXT Arkansas plays Vanderbilt at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Walton Arena.
Sports on 02/07/2018