After several players leaving, linebacker Bumper Pool coming back for bonus season was a positive they needed last week.
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Arkansas was down 17 midway through the second half but clawed its way back to make it a one-point game with 1:38 left.
Texas A&M answered with a 3-pointer, though, and made free throws down the stretch to win, 86-81, Saturday afternoon at Reed Arena.
Arkansas was led by JD Notae, tied his career-high five 3-pointers and scored a season-high 31 points – also his best point production as a Razorback. Overall, it was his fourth 30-point game for his career and second at Arkansas.
Jaylin Williams added his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. His effort helped Arkansas dominate the glass, 46-32.
The Aggies used a 16-0 run to take its 17-point lead and held a double-digit cushion until Davonte Davis made two free throws with 6:53 left. Texas A&M pushed its lead back to 11 with 3:65 to play.
However, Arkansas went on a 10-0 run to make it a one-point contest (79-78).
After the A&M triple, Davis sank to two free throws to make it a two-point game with 27 ticks left. The Aggies answered with two free throws.
With five seconds left, Davis was fouled. After making the first, Davis attempted to miss the second but was called for a lane violation. The Aggies closed the game by making two free throws to secure the win.
Arkansas returns to Bud Walton Arena to host Missouri on Wednesday (Jan. 12). Tipoff is set for 8 pm (CT) and the game will be televised on SEC Network.
FIRST HALF: Arkansas: 35 – Texas A&M: 37
• Arkansas led 13-5 at the first media timeout thanks to seven points by Stanley Umude and six from JD Notae.
• Notae (12) and Umude (8) combined for 20 of the Hogs’ first 22 points to lead 22-14 at the second media timeout.
• Arkansas’ largest lead was 11 (20-9).
• A&M made a 13-2 run to lead 32-29.
• Notae finished the half with 17 points.
• Arkansas out-rebounded A&M 23-17.
GAME NOTES
• Arkansas’ starting lineup was JD Notae –Jaxson Robinson – Au’Diese Toney – Stanley Umude – Jaylin Williams for the first time this season.
• Arkansas won the opening tip.
• JD Notae scored the game’s first points, a layup at 19:54.
• Davonte Davis was the first Razorback sub.
• JD Notae’s 31 points were also an SEC career-best with his previous best being 21.
• This was the first time this season Arkansas lost a game with winning the rebound battle.
• Davonte Davis added 13 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. The seven assists were his SEC career-high and his seven boards were a season-best and one off his career-high.
• Stanley Umude scored 10 points before fouling out midway through the second half.
• Jaylin Williams has had double-digit rebounds in back-to-back games, four times this season and eight times in his career.
• Kamani Johnson had a season-high eight rebounds and was 5-of-6 at the free throw line.
WATCH: Hogs coach Eric Musselman on trying to work through problems after loss
After dropping three in a row to start conference play, Musselman is trying to find answers to turn it around.
WATCH: JD Notae on Hogs starting slow again in loss to Texas A&M
After getting his legs back for this game, Note (31 points) on what team has to do to get off to faster starts in second half.
WATCH-LISTEN: Razorbacks vs. Aggies on ESPN Arkansas
Arkansas needs an SEC win.
So does Texas A&M, who Eric Musselman said Thursday is “playing really, really well” right now.
Tip-off is set for Noon and the game will be televised on the SEC Network.
You can also listen to Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman on HitThatLine.com, ESPN Arkansas 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and central Arkansas, 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home and Sirius/XM 386
Game notes
• This will be the 162nd meeting between Arkansas and Texas A&M. The Razorbacks own a 104-57 advantage in the series. The series is tied, 38-38, in games played at A&M.
• The Hogs have a slight 9-6 advantage in games since A&M joined the SEC for the 2012-13 season.
• Texas A&M is one of six teams that Arkansas has played over 100 times and one of three teams the Razorbacks have at least 100 wins against.
• The Aggies are the Razorbacks’ most common opponent with 161 games played in the series.
• The teams met in Arkansas’ first season of basketball (1923-24) and at least once per season through 1990-91.
• Stanley Umude scored 19 points in the SEC opener at Mississippi State and followed that with a season-high 28 points against Vandy. Umude is second in the SEC in scoring through two league games at 23.5 per game. (USC’s Erik Stephenson scored 26 in his lone SEC game of the season to rank first.)
• Jaylin Williams is the only player in the SEC to rank among the top 20 in rebounds and top 15 in assists.
Notes from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
Arkansas vs. Texas A&M
Current Records: Arkansas Razorbacks (10-4, 0-2 SEC) vs Texas A&M Aggies (12-2, 1-0 SEC)
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 8 at Noon
Where: Reed Arena, College Station, Texas (12,989)
TV/Streaming: SEC Network (Mike Morgan and Jon Sunvold).
Radio: HitThatLine.com, ESPN Arkansas 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and central Arkansas, 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home, SIRIUS 137/XM 190
Sportsbook Info (via BetOnline.ag)
Spread: Arkansas PK, Vanderbilt PK
Total: 145.5 – Over: (-105), Under: (-115)
Moneyline: NA
Bumper Pool finally gives Hog fans positive news
Bumper Pool is coming back for another season.
Pool, a two-time All-SEC performer, joins Dalton Wagner as the latest Razorback to take advantage of the extra year of eligibility granted to him during the pandemic.
It also gives the Hogs at least two quality defensive players on the back-end along with safety Jalen Catalon, who also has announced he will be back after missing most of the season with shoulder surgery.
Pool announced his decision on the Extra Points Podcast before releasing a statement on his Twitter account.
Let’s run it back, Arkansas! pic.twitter.com/ZVOM6vK9GM
— Bumper Pool (@bumperpool10) January 7, 2022
Pool has racked up 349 tackles (23.0 tackles for loss) in 30 career games as a Razorback, including a career-high 125 tackles during the 2021 season. He currently ranks ninth in school history in career tackles and sits 59 tackles shy of Tony Bua’s school record of 408 career tackles.
“I want to first start out by saying I am extremely blessed by God’s grace to be in this position I am today,” Pool said in the Twitter post. “These past four years have been some of the greatest four years of my life, and they wouldn’t have been possible without the love and support of my family, friends, coaches, teammates and most importantly the Arkansas fanbase. I feel a certain responsibility to the state of Arkansas, the university and my teammates to continue the tradition, standard and legacy that has been set by our football program. With that being said, I am forgoing the 2022 NFL Draft and coming back for my fifth year. Woo Pig!”
Pool put together the most productive season of his career in 2021.
His 125 tackles are the third-most in the SEC and ninth-most in the FBS. According to Pro Football Focus, his 71.3 overall defensive grade is the best in his career.
His 74.1 run defense grade is 5th among SEC linebackers. He was a part of an Arkansas team who picked up their first bowl win since 2015.
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