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Musselman says Hogs ‘just didn’t have enough gas in tank’

Arkansas’ run at the end of the season was halted in a 78-71 loss to the Tigers on Saturday in the SEC Tournament on quick turnaround.

Moody on struggles with free throws, Tigers’ defense

Razorbacks’ guard Moses Moody (28 points, 9 rebounds) on “one of those things” on 57.9 percent game shooting free throws in loss.

Smith on Razorbacks’ problems falling to LSU in tournament

Arkansas’ winning streak came to an end Saturday, falling in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament to the Tigers, 78-71.

Listen to Hogs-Tigers online here or on ESPN Arkansas stations

Who: No. 8 Arkansas Razorbacks (22-5) vs. LSU Tigers (17-8)
What: Arkansas looks to advance to SEC final game.
When: Saturday, March 13, 2:30 p.m. (pregame starts at 2 p.m.).
Where: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
• TV: ESPN (Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes) CLICK HERE
ONLINE: HitThatLine.com LISTEN HERE
• Radio: ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)

Razorbacks get another win with Battles’ homer in 10th

RUSTON, La. — Never a doubt.

No. 1 Arkansas’ flair for the dramatic made another appearance on Friday night as the Razorbacks staged a thrilling come-from-behind 9-7 win against Louisiana Tech at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.

Shortstop Jalen Battles launched the game-winning two-run homer in the top of the 10th, rocketing the baseball deep over the left-field wall and into the night.

His blast helped the Hogs earn their seventh comeback victory of the 2021 season, overcoming a three-run deficit in the eighth to stay undefeated.

The Razorbacks are 11-0 for the first time in the Dave Van Horn era and for only the second time in program history.

Arkansas also jumped out to an 11-0 start during the 1996 campaign, winning a program-record 18 games in a row to begin that year.

The three-game series rolls on Saturday afternoon. First pitch at the ballpark is set for 2 p.m.

Arkansas stuck at 16th in NCAA Indoors headed to final day

Arkansas produced a pair of sixth place efforts on the second day of the NCAA Indoor Championships while three Razorbacks advanced to Saturday finals during qualifying prelims inside Randal Tyson Track Center.

Through seven scored finals, LSU and Georgia are currently tied with 20 points each, followed by Florida State (17), USC (16), North Dakota State (15) and Oregon (13).

In qualifying for Saturday finals, the Ducks lead with five while three schools followed with four each for LSU, Florida and North Carolina A&T.

Arkansas currently has six points and is tied for 16th place.

The distance medley relay posted a time of 9:33.65 to place sixth and earn three points for Arkansas. The foursome included Reese Walters (2:58.61), James Milholen (45.85), Jadon Bartholomew (1:49.98) and Andrew Kibet (3:59.21).

Oregon won the race in a meet record of 9:19.98, topping the 9:27.27 clocking the Ducks set in 2016.

Finishing behind Oregon were Ole Miss (9:20.75) and Texas (9:23.73).

Ryan Brown reached a distance of 25-8¼ (7.83) in the third round of the long jump to collect three team points with a sixth-place finish.

After winning the high jump at 7-6½ (2.30), LSU’s JuVaughn Harrison had a career best of 27-8¾ (8.45) to claim the long jump as well over Florida State’s Isaac Grimes (27-4¾ | 8.35) and Carey McLeod of Tennessee (27-1¼ | 8.26).

Just missing an opportunity to score in the heptathlon, Daniel Spejcher survived the seven-event competition with a score of 5,630 points to place ninth, just 23 points out of eighth place.

Second day events included marks of 8.31 in the 60m hurdles (905), a pole vault of 15-3 ½ (807) and a 2:47.20 in the 1,000m (795).

Etamar Bhastekar hit a pair of hurdles, posting a time of 10.00 (541), as three entrants did not finish the race. Then Bhastekar missed his only attempt at 16-3 ¼ (4.96) and retired from the competition.

In a super-fast 5,000m final, won by Iowa State’s Wesley Kiptoo in a meet record of 13:23.77, the top 11 finishers all set career best times.

This included Razorback Jacob McLeod in 10th place with a 13:39.50, which ranks him No. 5 on the UA all-time list.

Finishing 12th and 13th were Gilbert Boit (13:46.48) and Amon Kemboi (13:50.10) while Matt Young did not finish.

A pair of Razorbacks qualified for the final of the 60m hurdles as Phillip Lemonious cruised to a career best of 7.60, making him the second-fastest performer in Arkansas history behind the school record of 7.45 set by Omar McLeod.

Also reaching the final was Tre’Bien Gilbert, who ran 7.43.

Kieran Taylor earned an automatic qualification to the 800m final as his 1:49.01 placed him second in his prelim heat.

Arkansas qualifies eight for final day of NCAA Indoor Championship

Scoring opportunities resulted in nine more points for Arkansas on the second day of the NCAA Indoor Championships, led by a silver medal performance by the distance medley relay.

Meanwhile, the Razorbacks totaled eight qualifiers for Saturday’s final day. USC followed with four while three were attained by Oregon, Texas, BYU and LSU.

Currently, through eight scored finals, Arkansas is tied for ninth place with five other teams at 10 points each. Texas A&M leads with 26 while LSU and Georgia are tied at 23.

“We advanced really well across the board,” said women’s coach Lance Harter. “A couple of the finals didn’t go to perfection, but at a national championship that’s hard to dial in to. We had some nice scoring today in the distance medley, getting second to a BYU team that had to run its legs off to get ahead of us.

“In qualifying we had some pleasant surprises. We have a lot of opportunities tomorrow, and if we can cash in on those, I think we can earn a spot on the podium.”

Saturday’s women session begins at 5 p.m. with the triple jump while running events starts at 6 p.m.

Racing with a foursome of Lauren Gregory (3:20.01), Kethlin Campbell (52.69), Quinn Owen (2:07.43), and Krissy Gear (4:37.07) the Razorbacks clocked a time of 10:57.19, which matched the sixth best time in school history. BYU won the race in 10:52.96, the top collegiate time this season.

Another point was added to the team total in the pole vault with Bailee McCorkle placing eighth as she cleared a season best of 14-3 ½ (4.36) while Nastassja Campbell finished ninth at 13-11 ¾ (4.26).

G’Auna Edwards placed ninth in the long jump with a mark of 20-10 ½ (6.36), just an inch and a half out of eighth place. Tara Davis of Texas won the event with a collegiate record of 22-9 (6.93) to better career best leaps by Florida’s Claire Bryant (21-11 ¾) and Texas A&M’s Tyra Gittens (21-11), who claimed the high jump with a 6-2 ¾ (1.90) clearance.

A third ninth place finish for Arkansas came in the 5,000m with Katie Izzo, who clocked 15:58.38. SEC champion Joyce Kimeli of Auburn won the race in 15:48.98.

In qualifying races, Arkansas advanced three milers to the final. Gear won the first prelim in 4:40.92 to earn an automatic spot. Kennedy Thomson led three Razorbacks in the second prelim with a career best of 4:38.88 and Gracie Hyde (4:39.04) joined her in making the final.

Despite running a faster time than the previous heat, a 4:39.29 by Isabel Van Camp did not advance to the final on time.

Daszay Freeman produced a career best of 8.05 to win her prelim heat in the 60m hurdles. Her time equals No. 3 on the UA all-time list, matching Taliyah Brooks.

Two of four Razorbacks in the 400m prelims advanced to the final. Career best times for Rosey Effiong and Tiana Wilson resulted in marks of 51.82 (No. 4 UA) and 52.34 (No. 7 UA) as they placed third and eighth overall. Paris Peoples (52.78) and Morgan Burks-Magee (53.43) finished 11th and 15th.

Jada Baylark equaled the school record of 7.15 in the 60m prelims, placing third in her heat behind USC’s Twanisha Terry (7.09) and Oregon’s Kemba Nelson (7.13). Baylark equaled the time Kiara Parker set in 2019 in taking down Veronica Campbell’s mark of 7.20 established in 2004.

Shafiqua Maloney placed third in her heat of the 800 with a 2:04.50 to advance to the final, finishing behind BYU’s Claire Seymore (2:03.97) and Laurie Barton of Clemson (2:04.07).

Arkansas also had a pair racing in the 200m prelims as Baylark (23.27) and Jayla Hollis (23.65) were 10th and 13th overall.

Notes on Hogs’ SEC Tournament-opening win over Mizzou

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — JD Notae has his best game at Arkansas, scoring 27 points, but none was bigger than his desperation bank shot in the lane with 1:19 left.

The shot gave the lead to the eighth-ranked Razorbacks to a 70-64 victory over Missouri in the SEC quarterfinal Friday night at Bridgestone Arena.

The Hogs, the SEC second seed, won their 12th straight against an SEC opponent and improves to 22-5. The Razorbacks also improve to 15-2 all-time when playing in the SEC quarterfinal. Mizzou, the seventh seed, falls to 16-9.

Notae single-handedly kept Arkansas in the game by scoring 15 of the Hogs’ 32 points in the first half.

In particular, he scored 12 points during a 16-0 run as the Razorbacks went from down 10 (Missouri’s largest lead of the game) to up six. Also, Ethan Henderson gave Arkansas a huge lift in the first half to spark a comeback.

The second half belonged to Justin Smith, who scored 13 of his 16 points in the period and he pulled down all eight of his rebounds in the frame.

Moses Moody was held in check by the Tigers, scoring just five points. However, he tied Smith with eight rebounds, had a blocked shot and he took five charges.

Overall, Arkansas took nine charges to off-set tying its season-high by committing 20 turnovers.

Davonte Davis scored 11 points with six rebounds and four assists.

Xavier Pinson led the Tigers with 12 points and Dru Smith added 11. Kobe Brown led all players with 11 rebounds.

Arkansas will play fourth-seed LSU in the SEC semifinals on Saturday (Mar. 13). Tipoff is set for approximately 2:30 pm and the game will be televised on ESPN.

FIRST HALF: Arkansas 32 – Missouri 33

• Arkansas started slowly, making just 3 of its first 11 shots, but were only down two (6-4) at the first media timeout and five (14-9) at the second media timeout.

• Ethan Henderson provided a lift on both ends of the floor and the Hogs went on a 1-0 run to tie the contest at 23-23 and force a Mizzou timeout at 5:43.

• Coming out of the timeout, JD Notae hit two deep 3’s from the top of the key to cap a 16-0 run (making seven straight shots) to lead 29-23. Jeremih Tilmon ended a 5:06 scoring drought for the Tigers with a jumper at 4:12.

• Javon Puckett made a 3-pointer with 49 seconds left to put the Tigers up one (33-32) which was the halftime score.

• Ethan Henderson finished the half with two dunks and two blocked shots.

• JD Notae was the Razorbacks leader, scoring 15 of the team’s 32 first half points.

• Arkansas ended up shooting 46.2% from the field despite the slow start.

SECOND HALF: Arkansas 38 – Missouri 31

• The lead bounced back and forth early in the second half, but Arkansas used a 6-0 run over 2:14 to take a 46-44 lead with 11:42 left. Arkansas pushed it to a 7-0 run after a Smith free throw before Xavier Pinson tied the game (47-47) with three free throws (10:16).

• Arkansas had a 13-1 run (including an 8-0) run to lead by 10 (60-50).

• Xavier Pinson ended the run with a 3-pointer but JD Notae came right back with a triple for another 10-point cushion (63-53) with 3:40 left.

• Parker Braun hit two free throws and a 3-pointer to get to within five (63-58). Then Kobe Brown made two free throws to get the Tigers to within three (63-60) with 1:49 left.

• Notae threw in a shot in the lane with 1:19 to end the Tiger run and give Arkansas a five-point cushion. Notae then blocked a shot on the other end.

• Jalen Tate put Arkansas up six (68-62) by making two free throws with 24 seconds left. Davonte Davis only made 2-of-4 at the free throw line inside the final 16 seconds, but it was enough to provide the 70-64 final.

Game notes

• Arkansas is 6-4 this year when trailing at the half. Arkansas has won each of the last two games, trailing at the half in both. Arkansas also trailed Missouri at the half in a win over then Mizzou on Feb. 13. Arkansas has won five games during its win streak when trailing at the half, including three of the last four.

• Arkansas wins the rubber match with Missouri and this was the first time the two teams have faced each other in the SEC Tournament. Arkansas leads the Tigers 30-26 in the all-time series and is 2-0 versus the Tigers on a neutral court.

• Arkansas is now 28-27 in the SEC Tournament and 15-2 in the quarterfinal round. The Hogs will be in the SEC semifinal for the 15th time and the fourth time over the last eight years.

• Since the start of February, Arkansas is 9-0 with six NCAA NET Quad 1 wins.

• Arkansas’ 12-game win streak versus SEC opponents ties the program record. The 1993-94 team won 12 straight versus SEC opponents to close the regular-season and by winning its first game in the SEC Tournament.

• Eric Musselman is 4-0 all-tie as a college head coach in Bridgestone Arena, 2-0 in the SEC Tournament, 8-3 overall in conference tournaments and improves to 15-7 all-time in the postseason.

• Arkansas’ starting lineup was Jalen Tate (G) – Davonte Davis (G) – Moses Moody (G) – Justin Smith (F) – Connor Vanover (F) for the ninth consecutive game. The lineup is 9-0.

• Arkansas won the opening tip. Arkansas is 14-2 when controlling the tip.

• Missouri’s Kobe Brown scored the game’s first points, layup at 19:22. Arkansas is 7-2 when the opponent scores first. Jalen Tate scored Arkansas’ first points, a jumper in the lane at 17:20.

• JD Notae and Vance Jackson Jr., were the first subs for Arkansas.

• Ethan Henderson provided a huge lift off the bench in the first half. He made both of his shots, both dunks. Of his eight field goals made this year, five are dunks. He added two blocked shots.

• JD Notae’s 27 points are the fourth-best total of his career. He scored a career-high 40 as a sophomore at Jacksonville, 30 as a freshman at Jacksonville and 29 in his second-to-last game as a Dolphin as a sophomore.

• Justin Smith was 6-of-7 from the field in the second half, including two key put-backs – one with 6:44 left to put the Hogs up six and the second with 5:36 left to give Arkansas an eight-point lead.

Musselman on slugging out 70-64 win in defensive battle

Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman with the media after “two good defensive teams” battled until the end in SEC Tournament on Friday night.

Notae on having big night in SEC Tournament despite being sick

Hogs’ guard JD Notae (27 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) was throwing up before the game and at halftime, but still had huge game.

Tigers throttle Razorbacks’ men’s tennis, 5-2, on Friday evening

Arkansas won the doubles point in an SEC matchup with LSU on Friday night, but eventually fell, 5-2, at the Billingsley Tennis Center.

Action was moved inside to the Dills Indoor Courts after rain stopped outdoor play early in singles.

In doubles, the Razorbacks won the first three games on all three courts. Melvin Manuel and Adrien Burdet moved to 2-0 as a duo with a 6-3 win at the No. 2 spot.

Nico Rousset and Alex Reco won their fourth-straight as a pairing with a victory over Nick Watson and Boris Kozlov, 6-4. Rousset and Reco lead the Hogs with their seventh victory of the dual season.

Nico Rousset was first off the courts, dropping just one game in a 6-1, 6-0 route against Tom Pisane at the No. 3 position.

Rousset is now 8-4, matching Razorback teammate Adrien Burdet with a team-high eight dual season wins.

Reco and Paya battled after dropping their first sets to force a third on courts one and six, respectively. However, their Tiger opponents captured the wins in the deciding set.

The Razorbacks will be back at the Billingsley Tennis Center to face the 12th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies on Sunday.

First serve in Fayetteville is set for 1 p.m.