Postgame Thoughts: Arkansas 73, Texas A&M 71

Texas A&M's Brandon Mahan, right, tries to pass the ball around Arkansas' Isaiah Joe (1) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019, in College Station, Texas. (Laura McKenzie/College Station Eagle via AP)

Arkansas began 2019 the right way on Saturday.

Thanks to some timely 3-point shooting and solid contributions from a handful of players, including Gabe Osabuohien, the Razorbacks edged Texas A&M 73-71 in Reed Arena - a building that hasn't been too kind to them in the past - and moved to 2-0 in true road games this season.

"We just had guys step up and make plays down the stretch," Mike Anderson told SEC Network following the win. " ... This team continues to get better. It tells you about the growth of this team. They didn't lose their poise and the stayed with the gameplan and played together and off each other."

Jalen Harris led Arkansas with 15 points and was a single assist shy of his third points-assists double-double of the season. The 15 points is a season-high and ties a career-high set against Nevada during his freshman season at New Mexico. He could have had more if not for some shaky free throw shooting down the stretch, but overall he played a strong floor game (0 turnovers) and was great dictating the pace in the second half when Arkansas scored 1.08 points per possession (.97 PPP in first half).

"I thought he took control out there," Anderson said. "I thought that was going to be a big key to the game. We have to have someone settle us down when the adversity comes. He was that guy and he was the catalyst out here."

Mason Jones was in a serious shooting funk entering the back half of the second half Saturday. Dating back to the Austin Peay game last weekend, he had missed 15 of his last 16 shots, but he knocked down three of the four biggest shots of the game late to give the Razorbacks some breathing room in the final minutes. His three 3-pointers pulled Arkansas out of a three-point hole and into the lead for good.

Isaiah Joe had a semi-quiet night shooting the ball but, like Jones, hit a very timely triple from several feet beyond the arc to put the Razorbacks up two with under five minutes to go. He finished with 11 points on 3/7 from distance. He has now scored in double figures in each game this season. Daniel Gafford is the only other Razorback to do so.

Speaking of Gafford, he didn't have his greatest game to open league action, but he still recorded a double-double - his seventh of the season. He added 11 points and 11 rebounds (six offensive) in 25 minutes.

Anderson always talks about getting good, quality minutes from his bench, and tonight he got it from freshman guard Desi Sills and sophomore Gabe Osabuohien, who combined for 20 of Arkansas' 22 bench points. Sills led the reserves with 14 big points - 13 in the first half. At one point, Sills had 13 of the Razorbacks' 29 points in the first half. His energy was apparent and he wasn't shy about jumping headfirst into the action on the offensive end. His three first-half 3-pointers proved massive.

Osabuohien probably turned in his best game as a Razorback, finishing with six points and a career-high seven rebounds. Outside of a pair of 3-point attempts, I liked just about everything Osabuohien provided in the win. He was ultra-aggressive on the glass, took charges and grabbed some big rebounds late, and he also had a pair of crucial tip-ins in the first half that kept the Razorbacks in it early on.

Osabuohien was a team-best plus-10 when on the floor, which I'm sure Anderson loves. His role is so vastly different this conference season than it was a year ago and he took great advantage of his run Saturday. Arkansas entered the game as the only team in the SEC with a negative rebounding margin, and he gave the Razorbacks a lift in that area, which led to Arkansas winning the battle on the glass 47-42.

Adrio Bailey didn't have the greatest game either, scoring five points on 2/7 from the floor, but he pitched in five rebounds and kept a couple of possessions alive thanks to his aggression around the rim. In his third time though the SEC, he has to be something of a leader and a calming presence, and I thought he was that tonight in a way.

"He may not score much, but just his energy ... his energy was totally different," Anderson added.

For Texas A&M, guard TJ Starks led the way with a game-high 23 points and forward Savion Flagg was a monster, finishing with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Outside of them, though, no other Aggies player scored more than seven points.

Texas A&M shot the ball well from 3-point range to open the second half, hitting three of its first four, but made just 1 of its final 11 attempts and just 5 of 24 (21 percent) for the game, which is well under its already porous 29 percent average on the season.

This was a pretty big-time effort from Arkansas with its back somewhat against the wall and trailing by three with under eight minutes to go. Similarly to the win at Colorado State, the young Razorbacks just regrouped, hit shots when needed and showed some resilience.

The shaky free throw shooting at the end is troubling, but at this time of the year, you'll take a win however you can get one. Anderson spoke Thursday about being able to steal some games away from home, and this was the definition of stealing one.

Now the Razorbacks can look forward to returning home for a pair of games next week against Florida and LSU. If Arkansas can play its brand of ball on its own floor then a 3-0 start to league play isn't out of the realm of possibility.

And that would truly be something considering the feeling surrounding this team less than a month ago.