FAYETTEVILLE -- Ole Miss led for just 21 seconds Saturday in Walton Arena -- and that was early in the first half -- but the game was tense to the end for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
The Rebels continuously rallied whenever they seemed hopelessly down before the Razorbacks were able to hold on for a 97-93 victory and an announced crowd of 18,030 could breathe a sigh of relief.
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville hit 13 of 16 free throws in the final 3:15, including 6 of 6 by senior guard Daryl Macon in the the last 31.6 seconds.
Arkansas (13-6, 3-4 SEC) finally looked in control when freshman forward Darious Hall hit two free throws for a 90-83 lead with 50.4 seconds left.
But Ole Miss hit three consecutive contested three-pointers in the final 38 seconds with Deandre Burnett, Breein Tyree and Terence Davis knocking them down to keep the pressure on the Razorbacks.
"Right there at the end, it seemed like they had some shots out of nowhere and they made it," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "Thank goodness we can go to the free-throw line and knock them down and try to finish the game out."
Senior guard Jaylen Barford, who led Arkansas with 23 points, made a critical play aided by Daniel Gafford with less than five minutes remaining and Ole Miss in position to make it a two- or one-point game.
Gafford, the Razorbacks' 6-11 freshman, knocked the ball away from Marcanvis Hymon as he was trying to come off a screen. Barford got to the ball before Tyree, dribbled behind his back to avoid another Ole Miss player and raced down the court for a layup to put Arkansas ahead 82-76 with 4:39 left.
"That was a winning play," Ole Miss Coach Andy Kennedy said. "That's an upperclassman -- a guy that's an all-SEC caliber guard -- making a play against one of our seniors."
Anderson said Gafford and Barford did a good job working together defensively.
"That's what big-time players do, make plays, those moments," Anderson said. "We have to keep making those kind of plays."
Barford and Gafford joked during a postgame interview about who would be credited with the steal. The stat crew awarded it to Gafford.
"Dan poked the ball in my little hands, and right away I went behind my back and made the layup," Barford said. "Thanks to Dan, though. It's a credit to Dan."
Credit Gafford, too, for 15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocked shots and 3 steals. He also hit 3 of 4 three throws after being 13 of 31 in the previous six SEC games.
The Razorbacks hit 28 of 35 free throws after coming into the game ranked 14th in the SEC and 318th nationally at 65.5 percent. They hit 6 of 15 free throws in an 88-73 loss at Florida on Wednesday night.
"Yeah, and here they go 80 percent," Kennedy said. "That's a credit to them. That's kids just locked in and making shots.
"They wanted to win and they proved that."
Arkansas was desperate to win at home considering it was 1-4 in its previous five SEC games, with the next three on the road.
The Razorbacks, 0-4 in road games this season, play at Georgia on Tuesday night.
"We needed a win under our belt to go on the road to give us the confidence to go play," Gafford said. "As you can see, we've been struggling on the road, so playing in a game like this -- and how we played -- is going to help us pick up on the road."
Macon played 29 minutes off the bench and had 20 points and 6 assists while hitting 11 of 12 free throws. Hall had 11 points in his second start and hit 8 of 8 free throws. Sophomore guard C.J. Jones scored 11 points off the bench.
Arkansas senior guard Anton Beard (ankle) and senior forward Trey Thompson (hamstring) were questionable because of injuries, but Beard started and had 7 points, 5 assists and 2 steals in 30 minutes. Thompson had 2 points and 4 rebounds in 12 minutes.
Anderson said that before the game, he wasn't sure whether Beard or Thompson would play.
"That tells you a lot about those guys, being here for four years," Anderson said. "They felt obligated to their team to try to get as well as they could, and they weren't 100 percent.
"But I thought their presence on the floor was very, very important to our basketball team."
Davis, a junior guard, led Ole Miss (10-9, 3-4) with 30 points. He hit 10 of 15 shots, including 5 of 8 three-pointers, and 5 of 6 free throws.
Tyree, a freshman guard, had 16 points. Burnett, a senior guard, and junior forward Bruce Stevens each scored 15 points.
"Great atmosphere as always," said Kennedy, who is 5-5 as a visiting coach in Walton Arena. "They never disappoint. Good energy in the building.
"And I thought Arkansas came out with a sense of urgency that you would expect."
The Razorbacks led 50-34 with less than two minutes to play in the first half.
"They kind of put us on our heels early," Kennedy said. "We tried to settle in and make it a game."
The Rebels accomplished that even as they fell to 0-5 on the road.
"They shot the ball very well down the stretch," Barford said. "They made some big shots.
"Every timeout, I said they were going to keep on going for the three because that's the type of team they are and the type of coach Andy Kennedy is. He goes for the gusto."
Despite Arkansas' recent struggles, Saturday's game was a sellout.
"They were unbelievable," Anderson said of the fans. "That, to me, is what really inspires our guys.
"They want to play well for our fans, so this is hopefully the type of basketball we're going to take on the road with us where we play with that edge."
Sports on 01/21/2018