SEC MEN’S BASKETBALL AUBURN 88, NO. 22 ARKANSAS 77

Pain on the Plains: Auburn’s early flurry too much for UA

Arkansas guard Daryl Macon reacts to a play during the second half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Auburn, Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

AUBURN, Ala. -- The Arkansas Razorbacks' seven-year lease on Auburn Arena is up and so is Auburn's long drought without beating ranked SEC teams in back-to-back games.

The No. 22 Razorbacks lost for the first time in Auburn's new home arena as the Tigers unleashed a flurry of first-half three-pointers in an 88-77 victory before a crowd of 8,950 on Saturday.

Auburn (14-1, 2-0 SEC) won its 12th consecutive game, the school's longest streak since a 14-game winning streak in early 2000. The Tigers beat ranked SEC opponents in back-to-back games for the first time since 1958.

"We're in a good spot, and we have to take advantage," Auburn Coach Bruce Pearl said. "I'm not worried about 14-1 or this run. It's going to end. The league's too good."

The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (11-4, 1-2 SEC) had been 5-0 at Auburn Arena, including 4-0 under Coach Mike Anderson, since it opened Oct. 10, 2010.

"I'm not ever happy about losing," said Anderson, who again had plenty of family come down from his hometown of Birmingham. "It's hurting me right now."

The Razorbacks fell to 0-3 in road games.

Auburn put five players in double figures, led by 17 points from Mustapha Heron, who scored 15 in the first half. Desean Murray had 15 points and 8 rebounds for the Tigers, while Jared Harper added 14 points, Bryce Brown had 13 and Chuma Okeke scored 10.

"We share the ball. We give each other good looks and we knock down shots," said Heron, who was 7-of-14 shooting, including 3 of 4 from three-point range. "That's pretty much it. We're just playing as a unit right now, and we look to keep that up the whole season."

Jaylen Barford led the Razorbacks with 21 points, while Anton Beard scored 11 and Daryl Macon 10.

The Tigers hit their first four shots to lead 10-2, then went on a 12-3 burst in a span of 2:50 in the first half -- capped by a pair of three-pointers from Heron -- to turn a 10-7 lead into a 22-10 advantage.

"We were all jacked up," Murray said. "Together as a unit I feel like we played great in the first half."

The Tigers were 9 of 12 from the field at that point.

"I thought Auburn came out and threw the first punch," Anderson said. "Those guys were emotionally charged up and they couldn't miss a shot it seemed like."

After Arkansas closed to within 41-30 late in the first half on the Hogs' first three-pointer of the game by Beard, the Tigers closed the half with a 6-0 run to go up 47-30.

"Arkansas is good, and we knew that we could play well tonight and not win, but we played so well in the first half and built ourselves a terrific lead," Pearl said. "In the first half, I thought we dictated defensively and that was the big difference."

Auburn held two Arkansas mainstays without scoring for most of the first half.

Daniel Gafford was 0 of 3 and missed two free throws before converting a three-point play on a hard drive and short bank shot with 5:44 left in the first half to pull the Hogs within 35-23.

Barford missed his first two shots before hitting a short bank shot from the left block with 5:06 left in the first half. He went 1 of 3 in the opening half when the Razorbacks shot 13 of 31 (41.9 percent).

"I think in the first half we were sluggish a little bit and didn't bring enough fight," Barford said. "But in the second half we kind of turned that up and just made adjustments and changed our defense up as well."

Trailing 70-51 after Murray converted all three free throws on a shooting foul, the Razorbacks embarked on a 14-2 run to pull within 72-65 at the 5:07 mark on a pair of free throws by Trey Thompson. Barford scored seven points and Darious Hall added five points during that stretch.

"We started rebounding, got to loose balls," Barford said. "We did good the second half. But the first half we've got to start off better."

Barford scored 19 points in the second half on 7-of-11 shooting and finished 8 of 14, including 3 of 7 from three-point range.

Gafford was limited to 17 minutes due to foul trouble and had 8 points and 4 rebounds.

Macon had a rough night with 3-of-11 shooting, including 0 of 5 from three-point range. Macon went without a three-pointer for the first time since going 0 of 4 against Colorado State on Dec. 5.

The Razorbacks got the ball inside more effectively in the second half and cut their deficit to 57-46 on a Barford jumper with 14:11 left to play.

Auburn regained control with a 10-0 run that was capped by a three-pointer from Malik Dunbar and his dunk for a 67-46 advantage with 11:13 left.

"We're still in the conference race," Anderson said. "We're a few plays away. Tonight we were more than a few plays away early on. But I thought in the second half I saw our basketball team come out and play."

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Game sketch

RECORDS Arkansas 11-4, 1-2 SEC; Auburn 14-1, 2-0

STARS Auburn guard Mustapha Heron (17 points, 6 rebounds); Arkansas guard Jaylen Barford (21 points, 8 of 14 from the floor)

TURNING POINT Auburn went on a 12-3 tear early in the first half, capped by a pair of three-pointers from Mustapha Heron to take a 22-10 lead.

KEY STAT The Tigers shot 11 of 20 from three-point range and held Arkansas to 4 of 19 from beyond the arc. UP NEXT Arkansas hosts LSU at Walton Arena in Fayetteville on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

— Tom Murphy

Sports on 01/07/2018