ST. LOUIS -- The Arkansas Razorbacks will get a shot to beat Florida tonight.
It's been awhile.
The Razorbacks will look to break an eight-game losing streak against the Gators that spans five years when the teams play tonight in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (22-10) advanced to play the Gators by beating South Carolina 69-64 Thursday night at the Scottrade Center before an announced crowd of 11,752.
Arkansas last beat Florida on Feb. 5, 2013, when the Razorbacks upset the No. 2 Gators 80-69 in Walton Arena.
"It would be awesome to break that streak," said senior guard Jaylen Barford, who led the Razorbacks with 17 points against South Carolina.
Senior guard Daryl Macon, who had 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists for the Razorbacks, said he didn't realize Arkansas had lost eight in a row to the Gators.
Barford and Macon, both junior-college transfers, are 0-3 against Florida, including the Gators' 88-73 victory earlier this season at the O'Connell Center.
"It's going to be an uptempo game," Macon said of tonight's matchup. "They try to get up and down the floor like we did. We've just got to execute and get multiple stops and stay together."
Senior forward Chris Silva led South Carolina (16-16) with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore forward Maik Kotsar scored 15 points and senior guard Frank Booker 11.
Barford scored five consecutive points to push the Razorbacks' lead from 61-59 to 66-59 with 2:52 left.
The shot clock was about to expire when Barford hit a three-pointer from about 26 feet to make it 64-59.
"I shoot every day, but I guess it was kind of a H-O-R-S-E shot," Barford said. "I knew it was good when it left my hands."
Barford stepped back to create just enough space to get the shot off over Booker.
"He sat back a little bit," Barford said. "So I shot it while the clock was running down."
Barford followed the three-pointer by making a steal and scoring on a breakaway layup.
"He's supposed to make big plays," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "He's a tremendous player, and he seized the opportunity."
Silva hit two free throws to pull South Carolina within 66-64 with 1:11 left.
Macon was fouled on a rebound attempt and hit two free throws to make it 68-64 with 39.1 seconds left.
After Hassani Gravett missed a three-point attempt, senior guard Anton Beard was fouled and hit 1 of 2 free throws with 13.6 seconds for a 69-64 Arkansas lead.
South Carolina missed three shots on its final possession.
"Our guys hung in there and found a way to finish the game off," Anderson said. "Our guys showed some resilience, some resolve with defensive stops and making free throws."
Arkansas 6-6 sophomore forward Adrio Bailey started in place of Dustin Thomas -- who was dismissed by Anderson on Monday for an undisclosed violation of team rules -- and had 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
"I thought Adrio played like a warrior," Anderson said. "The opportunity presented itself, and I think he's taking advantage of that. He knows what's needed on this basketball team, the mentality."
Freshman forward Darious Hall scored nine points off the bench for Arkansas and hit 4 of 5 shots to break out of a slump. In the previous five games, he scored a combined eight points on 3-of-13 shooting.
"You can see he's oozing with potential," Anderson said.
Razorbacks freshman forward Daniel Gafford had 8 points, 4 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Beard had 7 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
Arkansas held off the Gamecocks by hitting 23 of 26 free throws.
"They've got a dynamic, high-powered team," South Carolina Coach Frank Martin said of the Razorbacks. "They've got hard shot-makers."
The Gamecocks had 19 turnovers Thursday after having 18 in their 81-65 loss at Arkansas on Feb. 6.
Arkansas outscored South Carolina 19-11 in points off of turnovers Thursday night and 26-11 in the teams' regular-season meeting.
Martin noted the Razorbacks' 10 steals Thursday night.
"Against Arkansas, that's a big problem," he said. "That's the difference in the game."
The Gamecocks outscored the Razorbacks 16-10 on second-chance points thanks to 18 offensive rebounds. South Carolina had a 42-29 overall rebounding advantage.
"Looking at the offensive rebounds we gave up, that's one stat I'm really disappointed in," Anderson said. "Florida doesn't have a lot of size, but those guys are very athletic."
Arkansas evened its SEC Tournament record at 25-25, including 3-2 against South Carolina and 1-4 against Florida.
The Razorbacks outscored South Carolina 11-4 to open the second half -- including dunks by Gafford and Bailey and Barford's three-point play on a driving basket and free throw -- to take a 47-32 lead with 16:18 left.
The Gamecocks pulled within 56-55 with 7:22 left on Kotsar's basket when Gafford was called for goal-tending.
Gafford scored inside and Bailey hit 1 of 2 throws for a 59-55 Arkansas lead.
Game sketch
RECORDS Arkansas 22-10; South Carolina 16-16 STARS Arkansas senior guards Jaylen Barford (17 points, 3 steals) and Daryl Macon (12 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists). South Carolina junior forward Chris Silva (15 points, 11 rebounds) TURNING POINT Barford scored five consecutive points on a three-pointer and steal and layup to push the Razorbacks’ lead from 61-59 to 66-59 with 2:52 left. KEY STAT The Razorbacks hit 23 of 26 free throws. UP NEXT Arkansas will play Florida about 8:30 tonight in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals at Scottrade Center.
Sports on 03/09/2018