COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Jalen Harris scored 15 points and Desi Sills added 14 as Arkansas held on for a 73-71 victory at Texas A&M in a Southeastern Conference opener on Saturday night.
The Razorbacks (10-3, 1-0 SEC) won for the first time in four tries in SEC openers at A&M (6-6, 0-1).
The teams traded leads for much of the second half before Arkansas heated up from long range. Mason Jones, Isaiah Joe and then Jones again coolly drained 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions starting with about five minutes left in the game.
The last lifted Arkansas to a 62-59 lead with 4:11 remaining, and the Razorbacks added to it with another 3-pointer from Jones with 3:23 left. That gave Arkansas an insurmountable 65-59 lead.
Even when Jones missed a 3-pointer during that stretch, as he did with 2:04 remaining, Gabe Osabuohien was there to snag the rebound on a possession capped by a Harris driving layup in the paint.
Jones was 3-of-11 from the 3-point line overall, but made the long-range offerings when it counted most.
Arkansas led 32-31 at halftime on the strength of Sills' 13 points in the first 20 minutes. The Aggies also missed eight of their nine 3-point attempts in the first half, in leading only briefly over that span.
BIG PICTURE
Arkansas: The Razorbacks were upset about opening SEC play at A&M for the fourth time in seven seasons, and they had reason to be with the unbalanced scheduling. It didn't matter on Saturday, however, with Jones' long-range shooting late in the game. Arkansas was picked to finish 10th in league play, but as Harris pointed out, it was big to win the opener on the road.
A&M: The Aggies needed this one in a big way, and not simply because it was their SEC opener. They were coming off an 88-73 home loss to Texas Southern, a stunning setback that snapped a five-game win streak. They're on the road for their next two, and are looking at starting 0-3 square in the eyes.
UP NEXT
A&M hits the road for the first time this season in SEC action, playing at No. 13 Kentucky on Tuesday night.
Arkansas plays at home for the first time in conference, playing host to Florida on Wednesday night.
EARLIER
Arkansas 73, Texas A&M 71 - Final
The Razorbacks did themselves no favors in the final minute of the game with their free throw shooting, but they did just enough to edge the Aggies and move to 1-0 in SEC play.
Jalen Harris led Arkansas with 15 points and nine assists, Desi Sills had 14 off the bench, Isaiah Joe added 11 and Daniel Gafford had an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double. Arkansas was sparked in the second half by a flurry of 3-pointers from Mason Jones, who hit three after the break. Jones finished with nine points.
Gabe Osabuohien played well off the bench, too, adding six points and a career-best seven rebounds. His previous high was five.
TJ Starks led A&M with 23 points and Savion Flagg added 20 and 15 rebounds in the loss.
Arkansas is now 2-0 in true road games this season, and heads into Wednesday's home game against Florida with a bit of momentum.
Arkansas 62, Texas A&M 59 - 3:45 left
Arkansas was struggling mightily from 3-point range in the second half ... until it wasn't. Mason Jones and Isaiah Joe have hit the Razorbacks' last three triples and sparked the offense. Jones hit two of the 3s after missing on 15 of his last 16 shots dating back to the Austin Peay game. Good for his confidence to see a couple shots fall.
Isaiah Joe hit his 3 from probably 5 feet beyond the arc.
Texas A&M 54, Arkansas 51 - 7:31 left
Razorbacks took a 51-48 lead after a sweet finish from Daniel Gafford at the rim. A&M answered with six straight points over 1:06 to take a 3-point lead and force Mike Anderson to call for time. TJ Starks and Savion Flagg have combined for 28 points on 11/19 shooting for the Aggies.
Daniel Gafford has another double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Mason Jones is struggling tonight again. He's 0/6 and now 1 of his last 16 shooting the ball.
Arkansas 45, Texas A&M 45 - 11:51 left
Not a whole lot of offense to be had in this game. Adrio Bailey had the Razorbacks' only traditional field goal between the breaks with a dunk. Gabe Osabuohien tipped in another miss and now has six points on 3/5 shooting. His two misses are both 3-point attempts. That has to stop. Gafford is one point away from a double-double.
A&M is being led by TJ Starks since the break. He has seven points on 3/6 from the floor and has a team-high 13 points.
Arkansas 40, Texas A&M 40 - 15:19 left
Daniel Gafford threw down a big two-hand slam just before the first stoppage of the second half and was fouled. He will be at the line when play resumes. He has eight points and nine rebounds to this point.
A&M is 3/7 from the floor to open the second half and each of the makes are from 3-point range. Aggies are 3/4 from deep in the opening minutes of the second half after making just 1/9 attempts before halftime. Razorbacks have to react to perimeter shooters much better. Rotations have been kind of slow.
Arkansas 32, Texas A&M 31 - Halftime
Jalen Harris drove the lane and threw up a floater that was swatted to the A&M bench, but officials called goaltending, giving the Razorbacks the lead at halftime. It was absolutely the right call. Harris has five points and four assists at the break.
Desi Sills led all scorers with a career-high 13 points on 5/7 from the floor and 3/5 from distance. Isaiah Joe has six points, which came in the first few minutes of the game. He sat with foul trouble a good portion of the first half. Daniel Gafford has four points on 2/6 from the floor, but is doing a solid job on the glass, grabbing seven - four offensive.
The Razorbacks are leading the rebounding battle 24-18 overall and 9-2 on the offensive end. A&M is just 1/9 from 3-point range, which is somewhat par for the course for them. They came into the game shooting just 29 percent from deep on the season. Arkansas is 5/14, and Joe and Sills have combined for all five.
Savion Flagg leads A&M with eight points and six rebounds while Jay Jay Chandler and TJ Starks have six apiece.
Texas A&M 25, Arkansas 24 - 4:00 left first half
Daniel Gafford added another layup at the rim, and the Aggies hit three free throws since the last stoppage in play. Gafford isn't truly on his game tonight. He has four points on 2/6 from the floor to go with six rebounds, but he has a pair of uncharacteristic point-blank misses.
Mason Jones and Isaiah Joe (2/3 3FG) both have two fouls.
Arkansas 22, Texas A&M 22 - 7:09 left first half
Desi Sills added another 3-pointer and a brilliant driving layup right out of the media timeout to add to Arkansas' lead. The Aggies then went on a 9-0 run to take a 22-20 lead.
Daniel Gafford, though, got his first bucket of the night to fall after grabbing a Reggie Chaney miss from above the free throw line, ending A&M's spurt. He was fouled and will be at the line when play resumes. He has two points and three boards in seven minutes so far.
The Aggies, all of a sudden, are shooting 50 percent from the floor and have a 16-6 advantage in points in the paint right now. Savion Flagg leads A&M with six points, and Sills has eight for Arkansas.
Arkansas 15, Texas A&M 11 - 11:53 left first half
Gabe Osabuohien was Arkansas' first big off the bench and he made an immediate impact for Mike Anderson. He scored at the rim in a post-up situation, then rebounded an Isaiah Joe missed layup and got the putback to go. Gabe also took a charge. He has to work on shot selection and being too shot happy, but not a bad start to league play for him in his new role.
Desi Sills buried a 3-pointer, too, contributing to the Razorbacks' 7-4 edge in bench points. Jalen Harris and Mason Jones each have two assists, and A&M big Christian Mekowulu picked up his second foul shortly after the under-16 timeout.
Arkansas 8, Texas A&M 4 - 15:34 left first half
Isaiah Joe has hit a pair of early 3-pointers to give the Razorbacks a lead at the first media timeout. His first triple came as the shot clock expired, and the second was in transition off an assist from Mason Jones. Jalen Harris has Arkansas' other score so far - a midrange jumper from just outside the free throw line on a pick-and-roll.
The Razorbacks' defense has been solid so far. Aggies are 2/9 from the floor to open the game and 0/3 from distance. Jones is doing a good job on the glass, too. He has three rebounds to this point, and Daniel Gafford has a pair, plus a block.
Pregame
Arkansas' starting lineup: Jalen Harris, Isaiah Joe, Mason Jones, Adrio Bailey and Daniel Gafford.
Mike Anderson has Bailey, a junior, in the lineup for the second straight game since starting Reggie Chaney against Texas State. For his career, Bailey is averaging just more than one point per game in January. I think it's important Arkansas gets something from him tonight.
Aggies' starters: Savion Flagg, TJ Starks, Wendell Mitchell, Brandon Mahan and Christian Mekowulu.
Arkansas is really going to be challenged to finish defensive possessions with a rebound. It was an issue in nonconference play, and Texas A&M has the potential to dominate on the offensive glass and hurt the Razorbacks with second-chance buckets. The Aggies are 13th nationally in offensive rebound percentage, per KenPom, grabbing 37.4 percent of their misses. The Razorbacks' fairly inexperienced group of bigs will have to play well.
Live updates by Scottie Bordelon