FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Daniel Gafford had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead Arkansas to its sixth win in seven games with a 91-82 victory over No. 14 Auburn on Tuesday night.
Gafford was 10 of 15 from the field, including seven dunks, and matched his career high with seven blocks for the Razorbacks (21-9, 10-7 Southeastern Conference), who won for the fourth time at home over a ranked team this season.
Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon each topped the 1,000-point mark in their second seasons at Arkansas, with Barford finishing with 20 points and Macon 16. The seniors are the sixth and seventh players in school history to score more than 1,000 points in only two seasons.
Mustapha Heron scored 28 points and Jared Harper had 20 to lead the Tigers (24-6, 12-5), who could have clinched at least a share of the regular season SEC title with a win. Horace Spencer added 12 points in the loss for Auburn, which shot just 34.4 percent (22 of 64).
The defeat marked the first time Auburn has lost back-to-back games this season, and it was the school's third in its last four games.
BIG PICTURE
Auburn: The Tigers were trying to match the school record for SEC road wins in a season against Arkansas, a team Auburn defeated 88-77 at home on Jan. 6. Auburn came into the game 5-3 on the road in conference play, the only school with a winning road mark in the league, but it only led briefly in the opening minutes on Tuesday and was unable to recover after Arkansas built a 19-point lead in the second half.
Arkansas: The Razorbacks entered the game 30th in the NCAA's RPI ratings and likely well on their way to the NCAA Tournament following a road win at Alabama over the weekend. The win over the Tigers improved Arkansas to 15-2 at Bud Walton Arena this season and all but assures the school of reaching the tournament for a third time in four seasons, the Razorbacks best run since three straight appearances from 2006-08.
UP NEXT
Auburn closes out the regular season by hosting South Carolina on Saturday.
The Razorbacks are at Missouri on Saturday.
EARLIER
Arkansas 91, Auburn 82 - Final
The Razorbacks knocked off their fourth ranked team in Bud Walton Arena rather convincingly. Daryl Macon, Jaylen Barford and Daniel Gafford were phenomenal, combining for 57 points.
Barford and Macon both reached 1,000 career points in the win - Macon on a 3 early in the first half, Barford on a stepback a few minutes later.
Gafford added a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double. Seven of Gafford's 10 makes were dunks. Anton Beard also added 11 points, five assists and four boards. Arkansas' seniors got a huge ovation with 13.1 to play.
Arkansas improves to 21-9 and 10-7 in SEC play heading into the regular season finale at Missouri on Saturday.
Arkansas 84, Auburn 76 - 3:17 left
The Razorbacks are clinging to an eight-point lead as we hit the final media timeout of the night. Mustapha Heron has a game-high 26 for the Tigers while Daryl Macon has 16 on a perfect 6 of 6 from the floor to go with five assists. Jaylen Barford has 18 points and eight rebounds, which is a career high.
Auburn's Desean Murray has four fouls.
Arkansas 80, Auburn 65 - 7:32 left
Arkansas' offense is rolling tonight, evidenced by nearing its season scoring average with just under eight minutes to play. Jaylen Barford has a team-high 18, reaching 1,000 career points with a nice stepback jumper. Daniel Gafford has 17, and Daryl Macon 14.
Anton Beard also has eight points, five assists and four rebounds. Horace Spencer - one of Auburn's two 6-8 forwards - fouled out before the last pause in the action.
Arkansas 72, Auburn 60 - 11:32 left
Arkansas got a big corner 3 from C.J. Jones to give its second unit some life. Jones has made his last five 3s dating back to the Alabama game. He's been a big lift.
Anton Beard, who will be at the line when play resumes, has seven point, including a big layup in traffic, to go with five assists. Gafford leads Arkansas with 17, and Mustapha Heron has a game-high 22 for the Tigers.
Arkansas 63, Auburn 54 - 15:28 left
Daryl Macon's reached the 1,000 career point mark with his fourth 3 of the night. He's a perfect 4 of 4 from deep and 5 of 5 from the floor for 14 points.
Daniel Gafford opened the second half with six straight points - two dunks - to balloon Arkansas' lead to 16. The Tigers, though, are on a 12-2 run over the last two-plus minutes to climb within single digits.
Arkansas 52, Auburn 42 - Half
Auburn's Mustapha Heron drilled a 3 at the buzzer to close the first half. Pretty lackadaisical end of half defense from Arkansas there. But, terrific half offensively - 1.300 PPP - as nine Razorbacks scored, led by Jaylen Barford's 13 and Macon's 11.
Jared Harper leads Auburn with 11 points while Bryce Brown and Heron have 10. Three Tigers players have three fouls and another has two, which forced walk-on Cole Blackstock - primarily a practice player - to enter late in the first half.
Arkansas 38, Auburn 30 - 3:42 left first half
Auburn pulled to within two points just a few moments ago, but dunks on three consecutive possessions pushed the Razorbacks' lead out to eight. Daniel Gafford flushed two of them, and Daryl Macon threw down the other. He has a game-high 11 points. Gafford also knocked down a baseline jumper before the under-4 timeout.
Bryce Brown and Jared Harper lead Auburn with 10 and nine points, respectively. The Tigers are shooting 30 percent and 1 of 9 from deep.
Arkansas 28, Auburn 26 - 7:20 left first half
Arkansas held the Tigers without a make from the floor for better than six minutes, but Auburn found ways to get to the line to keep this one close. Auburn is 13 of 15 at the free throw line, and Jared Harper just buried all three of his shots after being fouled by Trey Thompson beyond the arc.
Daryl Macon needs five points to become the sixth player in program history to reach 1,000 career points in just two seasons. Jaylen Barford is nine away.
Arkansas 22, Auburn 14 - 11:35 left first half
Arkansas has gotten buckets from Arlando Cook - 4 points - and Darious Hall since the previous media timeout. Cook is just a bucket away from tying his season high. He entered after Dustin Thomas picked up two fouls in the first 31 seconds of the game, and has more than held his own.
Auburn has missed its last five shots and hasn't scored in nearly three minutes. The Tigers are shooting just 29 percent while Arkansas is 8 of 15 (53 percent).
Arkansas 18, Auburn 12 - 14:20 left first half
Daryl Macon and Jaylen Barford are off to terrific starts. The duo combined to knock down 3 of 4 looks from deep in the opening five-plus minutes for 13 points.
Auburn scored the game's first three points at the foul line before Arkansas responded with a 10-0 run, it's 10th of the season. Mustapha Heron leads the Tigers with four points early. Five Auburn players have scored.
Pregame
Arkansas (20-9, 9-7 SEC) will start Anton Beard, Daryl Macon, Jaylen Barford, Dustin Thomas and Trey Thompson.
Auburn (24-5, 12-4 SEC) is running with Horace Spencer, Jared Harper, Bryce Brown, Mustapha Heron and Desean Murray.