FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Considering Texas’ best player had a career night and Arkansas is still trying to figure out their top guy these day, the Razorbacks’ 86-81 win is even more surprising.
The Longhorns were just playing for a win. The Hogs were playing for their tournament lives.
Even if it took five minutes longer to get there.
“We’re trying to get in that tournament,” Arkansas forward Jonas Aidoo said later. “That’s the main thing for us. We’ve got to finish the last stretch of games.”
After blowing a 14-point lead with 10:15 to go, Tre Johnson started heating up even more. Johnson, who scored 37 points, didn’t miss many down the stretch and it was all tied, 69-69, at the end of regulation.
Razorback fans were squirming, even with 7.3 seconds left in the game and the Hogs leading by 2. A Flagrant 1 foul by Texas’ Kadin Shadrick against Aidoo put the Razorbacks ahead 85-81. Considering the odds of Aidoo making two free throws at that point are similar to flipping a coin, it was a pleasant surprise.
Zvonimir Ivisic made 1 of 2 free throws moments later to set the final score.
“Jonas, to make those last two free throws, sort of shocked me,” Arkansas assistant coach Kenny Payne said, filling in for coach John Calipari. He apparently had other things. “He stepped up and made them. We needed that from him and that was great to have.”
Arkansas led by 12 at halftime and by 12 with 7:14 to go in regulation before Texas rallied to take a one-point lead (69-68) with 1:11 to go. However, D.J. Wagner hit a free throw with eight seconds left to force overtime. In the extra stanza, the Razorbacks were 9-of-11 at the free throw line to defeat the Longhorns, 86-81, and sweep the season series.
Arkansas played the game without an injured Adou Thiero, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder. In his absence, Trevon Brazile moved into the starting lineup and had one of his best games of the year with 12 points and eight rebounds while leading the team with a +13 in playing an SEC career-high 39:44.
Texas cut its deficit by gradually chipping away as the Longhorns’ best scoring run was just 6-0. The first 6-0 run got Texas to within six (64-58). A Tre Johnson 3-pointer trimmed the Texas deficit to three (66-63) with 3:42 to play. Karter Knox put the Hogs up five with a driving layup before Johnson led Texas to a second 6-0 run with two free throws, an assist on a Kadin Shedrick basket then a layup with 1:11 left to give the Longhorns the lead.
Wagner was fouled driving to the basket and made the first of two free throws. Johnson’s final layup missed and Texas’ attempted putback was after the buzzer and the teams went to overtime.
In the extra frame, Texas scored first and a Johnson 3-pointer. Zvonimir Ivisic answered with a layup. Johnson came back with a jumper in the paint and Ivisic once again answered. With 2:38 left, Ivisic made two free throws to put Arkansas up one and give his team a lead the Razorbacks would not surrender.
Johnson scored all 12 of Texas’ points in overtime but it was not enough to offset Arkansas going 9-of-11 at the line. Johnell Davis was 4-of-4 at the stripe in overtime and Ivisic was 3-of-4.
For the second straight game, all five Razorback starters scored in double figures. Ivisic led the team with 18 points, adding seven rebounds, while Wagner had 16 points, adding five assists. Davis finished with 14 points, going 7-of-8 at the free throw line, and Brazile and Knox each finished with 12 points.
Johnson led all scorers with 39 points (14-of-28 FG, 7-of-11 3PT and 4-of-4 FT). Arthur Kaluma turned in a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds and Shedrick had 12.
Arkansas hits the road for two games starting Saturday at South Carolina.
FIRST HALF: Arkansas 42, Texas 30
• Arkansas hit its first three 3-point attempts.
• Down 7-6, Arkansas used a 10-0 run to lead 16-7 and held the lead the rest of the half.
• Arkansas went through a near five minute drought but kept the lead. Karter Knox snapped the dry spell with two free throws to give Arkansas a 20-14 lead.
• Knox’s free throws started a 13-4 run to go up 31-18.
• Arkansas shot 46.% from the field and 58.3% f (7-of-12) from 3-point. Arkansas also went 11-of-14 from the line. On the other end, Texas shot just 38.2% from the field, 18.2% from deep (2-of-11) and was just 2-of-2 at the line.
• Trevon Brazile led Arkansas with 10 points and six rebounds.
• Tre Johnson led Texas with 10 points.
SECOND HALF: Texas 39, Arkansas 27
• Not only did Arkansas out-score Texas by 12 in the first half and Texas out-scored Arkansas by 12 in the second, there were several other turnarounds in the second half
• Texas was 10-of-11 at the line while Arkansas was just 3-of-6. Arkansas was called for 12 fouls compared to six by Texas. Texas shot 44.4% overall and 50% from 3-point while Arkansas was just 39.3% from the field.
• Tre Johnson scored 17 points for Texas in the second half, going 3-of-3 from 3-point. Kadin Shedrick, who had 12 points and eight rebounds for the game, had 10 points and seven rebounds in the period.
• Arkansas had a 7-0 run to grab a 14-ponit lead (57-43), its largest lead of the game.
OVERTIME: Arkansas 17, Texas 12
• In addition to going 9-of-11 from the 3-point line in overtime, Arkansas was 4-of-4 from the field
• Arkansas did not commit a foul in the overtime period.
• A key play was with Arkansas up two, Jonas Aidoo was fouled with seven seconds left and, after review, it was upgraded to a flagrant one, giving Aidoo two free throws (which he sank) and the ball back to Arkansas. Ivisic was fouled, made 1-of-2 to provide the final score of 86-81.
GAME NOTES:
• For the first time, Arkansas’ starting lineup was D.J. Wagner, Johnell Davis, Karter Knox, Trevon Brazile and Zvonimir Ivisic. It marks the ninth different starting lineup of the season for Arkansas.
• Arkansas won the opening tip. Arkansas has won the tip 21 times in 28 games.
• Texas’ Tre Johnson scored the game’s first points with a 3-pointer at 19:43. Trevon Brazile answered with a 3-poniter at 18:58 for Arkansas.
• Jonas Aidoo and Billy Richmond III were Arkansas’ first subs.
• This was the first overtime game of the season for Arkansas and the first for the Razorbacks since defeating Vanderbilt in the first round of the SEC Tournament last season.
• Overall, Arkansas and Texas have now met on 157 previous occasions. The only other program the Hogs have played more is Texas A&M at 170 meetings thanks to the Aggies joining the SEC for the 2012-13 season (12 years).
• Arkansas leads the all-time series versus Texas, 89-68, including a 47-21 advantage in games played in Fayetteville.
• With a sweep earlier this year, Arkansas has won 34 of the last 49 games dating back to the 1974-75 season.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.