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WATCH: The Morning Rush is LIVE. Hogs season ends with a loss to South Carolina
Razorbacks fall short at SEC Tournament to South Carolina
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Arkansas and South Carolina battled back and forth in the first half of Thursday afternoon’s second round game of the SEC Tournament inside Bridgestone Arena but a Carolina midgame run was too much to overcome for the Razorbacks in an 80-66 loss.
After an opening half that saw 13 lead changes and four ties, the Gamecocks scored the first 10 points of the second half to grow a three-point halftime lead to 13 points. The 10-point run to begin the half was an extension of a six-point run to end the first half for Carolina. The Gamecocks scored the final six points of the half and forced three Arkansas turnovers to lead 38-35 at the break. The lead proved to be too much for the Hogs in the second half, who chipped the lead down to six points but failed to get closer.
Khalif Battle led a trio of Arkansas scorers to reach double digits with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor to along with 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Battle also added a team-high seven rebounds. Makhi Mitchell and Jalen Graham each came off the bench to score 15 and 11 points, respectively, to help the Hogs outscore the Gamecocks in bench points 34-12.
Carolina took advantage in three key areas, outscoring the Razorbacks in points off turnovers (17-9), second-chance points (19-6) and points in the paint (52-38). Collin Murray-Boyles led all scorers with 24 points to go with seven boards and four steals. B.J. Mack chipped in 19 and nine boards.
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In a game where they looked horrible, then appeared to be a contender all in one overtime win over Commodores.
Eastside Liquor Halftime Podcast: 3-14-24
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Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: 3-14-24
Tye, Tommy and Chuck recap Arkansas’ win over Vandy in the SEC Tournament. Tom Murphy joins!
WATCH: The Morning Rush is LIVE! Hogs take down Vandy, will face Carolina today at 2:30
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Razorbacks finally come out on top in ‘tale of two halves’ over Vandy
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It was a tale of two halves and an overtime in Arkansas’ 90-85 win over Vanderbilt on Wednesday night in the SEC Tournament opening-game at Bridgestone Arena.
The Razorbacks endured a slow start in the first half, scoring only 27 points on 10-of-27 shooting from the floor to trail 41-27 at halftime. The Hogs, however, started to chip away at the deficit in the second half. A 14-2 run, fueled by eight points from Tramon Mark closed the gap to three points at 53-50. The Commodores responded with five straight points but back-to-back 3-pointers from Trevon Brazile and Davonte Davis brought Arkansas within two points.
Khalif Battle finally pulled the Hogs even with a pair of free throws with 8:41 remaining. Mark put Arkansas in front when he sank a 3-pointer while being fouled then added the free throw for a 62-60 lead with just under eight minutes remaining. The lead was the first for the Razorbacks since 21-20 midway through the first half.
The Razorbacks grew the lead to as many as eight points with just over two minutes left in the game, but a six-point run from Vanderbilt kept the Dores in the game with under a minute left. A pair of Battle free throws pushed the lead to four points with 17 seconds left but Vanderbilt’s Ezra Manjon scored the final four points of regulation, sinking a shot at the buzzer to force overtime.
Arkansas quickly took control in overtime jumping out to an 88-81 advantage, led by five points from Battle. His layup with 18 seconds remaining iced the game and sent Arkansas onto the second round. The comeback from a 14-point halftime deficit is the largest in school history, surpassing a nine-point halftime comeback win over LSU in the 2001 SEC Tournament (Hogstats.com).
Battle led Arkansas with 24 points, going 13-for-14 from the free throw line. His 13 free throws are the most ever by a Razorback in a conference tournament game (Hogstats.com). Brazile posted his sixth career double-double, scoring 13 points to go with 12 rebounds. Five Hogs reached double digits with Mark (18), Makhi Mitchell (18) and Davis (12) joining Battle and Brazile. Mitchell was efficient, making 7-of-11 from the field and adding six boards, three assists and three blocks.
Manjon led Vanderbilt with 29 points and Ven-Allen Lubin added 21 and 10 rebounds.
The victory over Vanderbilt improves coach Eric Musselman to 21-8 as a college head coach against conference foes that his team had lost to earlier in the season. The Razorbacks have already avenged losses against LSU and Georgia this season with an opportunity to add South Carolina to the list tomorrow.
Arkansas will take on the Gamecocks in the second game of the day on SEC Network, approximately 25 minutes following the conclusion of Mississippi State-LSU.
