Alabama snapped Arkansas’ nine-game win streak Saturday with a 68-67 victory at Coleman Coliseum.
Noah Gurley’s turnaround jumper in the lane with 28.7 seconds was the game winner for the Crimson Tide (16-9, 6-6 SEC). Gurley also had a go-ahead basket on Alabama’s previous possession with just over a minute left.
Arkansas failed to score on its final two possessions. JD Notae took the inbounds pass after Gurley’s shot and never passed before shooting an off-balanced three-point attempt off the backboard.
After Jahvon Quinerly missed the front end of a one-and-one with 3.4 seconds remaining, Davonte Davis’ half-court heave bounced off the rim for the Razorbacks. Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said he never considered taking a timeout after the defensive rebound.
“I think when you get something in that scramble-type situation, you let them play,” he said. “We always talk about the last play but…we should have shot free throws better. There are a lot of things you can pinpoint tonight and a lot of areas for us to try to get better and clean up as well.”
Arkansas (19-6, 8-4) rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half to take the lead on multiple occasions in the final three minutes.
Notae’s three-pointer with 2:37 remaining gave the Razorbacks their first lead at 65-64. Notae made two free throws with 48.5 seconds remaining to put Arkansas ahead 67-66.
More from WholeHogSports: Full coverage from Arkansas' loss at Alabama
Notae, the SEC’s leading scorer, scored 12 points after sitting most of the first half with two fouls. Notae committed his second foul at the 16:19 mark of the first half and didn’t re-enter the game until three seconds before halftime.
Alabama coach Nate Oats commended his team’s defensive performance against the senior guard.
“I thought our guys did a pretty good job on JD Notae,” Oats said. “We were obviously helped out by his foul trouble and him not playing much in the first half.”
Arkansas used a 13-1 run to get back into the game after James Rojas’ transition layup and foul put the Crimson Tide ahead 60-47 with 9:01 to play.
Notae and Jaylin Williams combined for all 13 points during the scoring spurt, including back-to-back three-pointers to pull the Razorbacks within 61-60 on Notae’s triple with 4:28 remaining.
Williams scored 22 points and had 10 rebounds to lead Arkansas. Stanley Umude added 19 points and nine rebounds before fouling out in the closing minutes.
“He just keeps getting better,” Musselman said of Williams. “I thought he was phenomenal defensively until those last two possessions against Gurley.”
Williams and Umude combined for 19 points before halftime to keep the Razorbacks close while Notae sat on the bench. Alabama led 37-32 at halftime.
The Crimson Tide used an 11-2 run early in the second half to build some cushion. Darius Miles’ three-pointer with 14:53 remaining put Alabama ahead 48-35.
JD Davison scored 11 points to lead the Crimson Tide, who improved to 11-2 at home. Jaden Shackelford added 10 points for Alabama, and Gurley and Charles Bediako added nine points apiece.
The Razorbacks lost their first game since Jan. 8 at Texas A&M and lost four days after beating No. 1 Auburn 80-76 in overtime.
Arkansas was held to 22 of 70 from the floor and 6 of 21 from beyond the arc. The Razorbacks were 17 of 24 at the free throw line.
Arkansas was able to keep the game close, in part, by forcing 24 turnovers it converted into 22 points, and 21 offensive rebounds that resulted in 10 second-chance points.
“Give Arkansas a ton of credit for coming back (from) down 13,” Oats said. “We didn’t take care of the ball well enough…a lot of that (is) due to how hard Arkansas plays.”
But Alabama was also opportunistic with 28 points on 16 turnovers by the Razorbacks.
Arkansas is scheduled to play again Tuesday at Missouri. The Razorbacks beat the Tigers 87-43 on Jan. 12 to begin their win streak.
“We were a basket away from winning 10 in a row against a team that has won a lot of really good games,” Musselman said. “We lost tonight, (but) we played with great effort,”