FAYETTEVILLE -- Sophomore guard Mason Jones was hot off the bench for the University of Arkansas basketball team Saturday.
Jones led the Razorbacks with 22 points in their 74-73 victory over Ole Miss in Walton Arena. He hit 7 of 10 shots, including a career-high 6 of 8 on three-pointers.
In the second half, Jones hit 4 of 5 three-pointers -- three in a 5:10 span.
"Mason being the player that he is, we know he can get hot in a hurry," Arkansas guard Jalen Harris said. "So if he hits two, we know to go to him again. Keep going to him until it doesn't work anymore, and he didn't fail today."
Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson said he still considers Jones, who played 29 minutes Saturday, to be a starter. He has come off the bench the past three games after starting the first 26.
"I thought their defense kind of lost him at times, and that's where I talked about the wear and tear and our bench having an effect on the game," Anderson said. "We worked them defensively."
Jones was 1 of 13 on three-pointers at Auburn and at home against Texas A&M, but is 8 of 12 the past two games, including 2 of 4 at Kentucky.
Before Saturday, Jones' high for three-pointers in a game was five against Montana State, Georgia Tech and Mississippi State.
"He's a good offensive player, especially if you aren't near him very much," Ole Miss Coach Kermit Davis said. "We weren't near him very much. We had bad awareness of him."
Saturday marked Jones' seventh game this season of 21 or more points, including 30 against Florida and Mississippi State.
"He's had big games like that this year, and we were just unaware," Davis said. "Not very physical with him. We lost him in transition. He had a good game today."
Gafford's FTs
Arkansas forward Daniel Gafford was 1 of 6 on free throws when he went to the line with 1:29 left and Ole Miss leading 71-68.
"I cussed myself out," Gafford said of his free-throw struggles up to that point. "Those are big shots, and at the end of games like this, you need shots like that.
"Being one of the main players on the team that has to score, I can't just come to the line and go 0-for with two shots. I need at least one of them, so it just got real aggravating [because] I work on free throws ... and as much as I shoot them, they don't fall for me in the game."
Gafford hit both free throws to pull the Razorbacks within 71-70.
"I think he's got to have confidence in himself," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "He didn't get down. When we needed them the most, he stepped up to the plate. Those were big free throws for us."
Hot and hotter
Arkansas shot 54.2 percent from the field (13 of 24) in the first half against Ole Miss, then 56.0 percent (14 of 25) in the second half to finish at 55.1 percent.
It was the Razorbacks' third-highest shooting percentage this season and second highest in an SEC game. They shot 60.9 percent (42 of 69) in a 121-89 victory over Florida International, and 58.3 percent (35 of 60) when they won 90-89 at LSU.
Nolan's ball
Former Arkansas Coach Nolan Richardson presented the game ball to the SEC officiating crew prior to tipoff.
Richardson was given the ball by Jamie Jones, a Fayetteville native and former Razorbacks offensive lineman who was an SEC official during the time Arkansas won the 1994 national championship. Jones did not work regular-season games for the Razorbacks.
Joe at 100
Freshman guard Isaiah Joe hit 2 of 6 three-pointers to give him 100 and move into a second-place tie on Arkansas' single-season list with Rotnei Clark, who hit 100 in 2010.
Joe is now two behind Arkansas assistant coach Scotty Thurman, who hit 102 three-pointers in 1995.
Couldn't make it
Four members of Arkansas' 1994 national championship team who weren't able to attend the game Saturday were Corliss Williamson, Corey Beck, Darnell Robinson and Reggie Garrett.
Beck was at a team function Friday night, but missed the game to watch his daughter, Coriah, play in the state tournament for Fayetteville High School.
Top lob
Reggie Chaney was the beneficiary of a fast-break play that started with his poke-away and steal from Ole Miss guard D.C. Davis.
After Chaney knocked the ball free, he bolted past midcourt and down the left side of the lane. Jalen Harris collected the loose ball, made a few dribbles and lobbed a pass for Chaney, who supplied the thunder dunk.
Make it 1,006
Mason Jones broke the ice on the Razorbacks' three-point shooting with a long-range shot from the left wing on a pass from Jalen Harris with 14:06 left in the first half.
The shot by Jones extended Arkansas' streak to 1,006 games with a made three-pointer.
Keyshawn down
Freshman guard Keyshawn Embery-Simpson was helped off the court and was putting no pressure on his left leg after going down at the 10:21 mark of the first half.
Embery-Simpson had just rebounded a missed shot by Adrio Bailey when a pair of Ole Miss defenders swarmed him. Ole Miss guard Devontae Shuler was given credit for a steal as the Rebels plowed into Embery-Simpson, who crashed to the floor.
Moments later, Arkansas guard Isaiah Joe stole the ball away from Shuler, and the officials stopped play as the Razorbacks headed downcourt.
Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson was livid that no foul was called on the play that injured Embery-Simpson, who returned late in the first half after a visit to the training room.
FT funk
Arkansas, the SEC's worst free-throw shooting team at 66.2 percent, got off to a horrible start from the line, missing five of its first six tries.
The Razorbacks finished 11 of 20 from the free-throw line after going 4 of 11 in the first half.
Ole Miss, the SEC's top free-throw shooting team at 77.4 percent entering the game, went 9 of 11 at the line.
Tip-ins
• Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson broke out his red sport coat in honor of the 1994 national championship Razorbacks, who attended the game.
• The No. 1-ranked Arkansas women's track and field team, led by Coach Lance Harter, was recognized on the court late in the first half for its SEC championship and led a Hog call.
Sports on 03/03/2019