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Razorbacks’ rally to get close before falling at end to Vandy
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Down 15 with 5:54 to play, Arkansas made seven straight baskets late to trim and trailed by one (83-82) with five seconds to play after a Khalif Battle. After a foul on the ensuing inbounds, Vanderbilt’s Ezra Manjon made two free throws with 3.5 seconds left to put the Commodores up three, 85-82. The Razorbacks got one final look to tie the game, but Tramon Mark’s 3-pointer did not go in to give Vanderbilt the win.
However, perhaps the play of the game came with 22 seconds left. Vandy was up three and Tyrin Lawrence missed two free throws. Ven-Allen Lubin knifed in, got the offensive rebound and converted an old-fashion 3-point play to give the Commodores a six-point cushion.
Manjon finished with 22 points while Lawrence and Lubin contributed 21 and 19 points, respectively, to lead the Commodores.
For the second straight game, Arkansas was led by Battle with 36 points. He drew 12 fouls and was 14-of-17 at the free throw line while adding six rebounds, three steals and three assists.
Arkansas scored first and held the lead for the first 15-plus minutes of the first half before Vandy went on a 12-2 run, including a 10-0 spurt, to give the Commodores a 33-27 lead. Vanderbilt shot 50 percent from the field, compared to Arkansas shooting just 29.6 percent (including 1-of-12 from 3-point range), and out-scored the Hogs, 8-0, on second chance points despite Arkansas grabbing seven offensive boards.
In the second half, Vanderbilt used a 9-0 run to push a four-point lead into a 13-point lead (61-48) with 7:52 left. The Commodores then extended the lead to 16 (69-53) with 6:07 remaining before the Razorbacks caught fire.
Battle scored 13 points and El Ellis scored 10 points over the final 6:26 while Trevon Brazile had six points.
For the Razorbacks, Ellis finished with 19 points, tying a season-high, and eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau for his Division I career. He now has 1,008 points in three seasons of DI basketball. He played his first two years at Tallahassee Community College. Mark was 8-of-8 at the foul line and scored 15 points with six rebounds. Brazile had seven points and six rebounds in 16:40 played and was a team-best +8 in the second half.
The Razorbacks hit the road to face Kentucky on Saturday (Mar. 2). Tipoff is set for 12:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on CBS.
Hogs Game Notes
• Arkansas starters were El Ellis, Khalif Battle, Tramon Mark, Davonte Davis and Chandler Lawson.
• Arkansas controlled the opening tip.
• Tramon Mark scored the game’s first points with a layup at 19:40.
• Makhi Mitchell and Jeremiah Davenport were the first Razorback subs.
• Arkansas had 11 offensive rebounds but only scored three second-chance points. Vandy had nine offensive boards and had 15 second-chance points. Vandy also out-scored the Razorbacks, 44-26, in the paint.
• Arkansas had a season-low one blocked shot.
• Battle has scored 78 points in his last two games – 42 versus Mizzou and 36 versus Vandy. The previous best effort after a 40-point game was Martin Terry, who scored 40 versus Memphis followed by a 29-point performance versus Cornell in Dec. 1972. Overall, the most points scored in consecutive games is held by Terry at 82 with 35 at TCU and 47 vs SMU in Feb. 1973.
• Arkansas has dropped three straight to Vandy but leads the all-time series, 39-15, including a 16-5 mark in Fayetteville.
• Arkansas continues to defend the 3-point shot well. Vandy was just 4-of-16 (25%) and the previous five opponents were only shooting a combined 26%.
Hogs explode for 21 runs cruising to easy Grambling
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — No. 2 Arkansas (6-2) racked up 20 base hits, including nine extra-base hits with six doubles and three homers, to coast to a 21-1 run-rule win against Grambling (1-7) on Tuesday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The Razorbacks’ 20 base knocks mark their most in a game since collecting 20 hits against Dayton on Feb. 28, 2018.
Jayson Jones led the offensive explosion, swatting a pair of dingers in the Razorbacks’ lopsided win. He finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored and a team-leading six runs batted in, swatting a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning before clubbing a grand slam – the Hogs’ second of the game – in the fifth inning.
Jones was one of six Arkansas batters to record multiple base knocks, with Will Edmunson (2-for-4), Kendall Diggs (2-for-3), Ross Lovich (3-for-3), Jared Sprague-Lott (2-for-3) and Peyton Holt (3-for-3) also tallying multi-hit games. Holt scored a team-high four runs in the Razorbacks’ win, while Edmunson, Diggs and Sprague-Lott each contributed doubles.
After starter Colin Fisher, who earned the win to improve to 2-1 on the year, fired a scoreless top of the first with a strikeout, the Hogs’ offense posted a seven-spot in the bottom half of the frame. The biggest blow of the inning came off the bat of Hudson Polk, who clobbered a grand slam – Arkansas’ first of the season – in his first at-bat of the year.
Ahead 7-0 after the first, the Razorbacks added five runs in the third, two runs in the fourth, six runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth to take control of the ballgame. Arkansas silenced the Grambling offense until the seventh inning, when the Tigers put together a two-out rally and brought home a run to break up the shutout.
On the mound, all six Razorback pitchers struck out at least one batter and combined to total 11 punchouts in the seven-inning win. Parker Coil tossed two scoreless innings in relief, while Cooper Dossett struck out the side in his season debut, and Gage Wood logged a pair of strikeouts in his scoreless inning of work.
Arkansas’ 12-game homestand continues this weekend when Murray State (6-2) comes to town. First pitch in the series opener between the Razorbacks and Racers in scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday, March 1, on SEC Network+.
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