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%.