TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The University of Arkansas' top scorer struggled to make free throws, and the Razorbacks' second-leading scorer was gimpy with a sore knee and did not score at all.
The Razorbacks also fell behind Alabama by 12 points before denting the scoreboard themselves.
And still the gritty Hogs found a way to overcome the SEC's highest-scoring team for an 82-78 victory over the Crimson Tide before a crowd of 12,461 at Coleman Coliseum on Saturday. It was Arkansas' sixth consecutive victory over Alabama.
Mason Jones scored 30 points on 10-of-20 shooting while battling leg cramps, and Jimmy Whitt added 26 points with a series of isolation plays down the stretch to lead Arkansas.
The Razorbacks (16-5, 4-4 SEC) rallied after the poor start in what Coach Eric Musselman described as a must-win scenario after a home loss to South Carolina on Wednesday.
"I mean, it really was a must-win," Musselman said. "The team knew it. I told them this week. I thought we came out and played like we had to win."
Jones had his worst free-throw shooting game of the season at 6 of 13, but he hit 4 three-pointers, had 5 rebounds and drew a game-high 9 fouls.
"We know we can win on the road," Jones said. "It was big. We want to stay in the hunt for the SEC title and more, and the [NCAA] Tournament. We know we needed this win."
Jones became the first Arkansas player to score 30 points in back-to-back games since Jannero Pargo did it in 2002. Pargo's second 30-point game was also at Alabama on Jan. 30, 2002.
"Mason was phenomenal," Musselman said. "I mean, he was like a baseball player that can play a bunch of different positions. I mean he's setting screens for us on pick and rolls, then he's handling for us on pick and rolls. Then we put him in isolation situations.
"He's a point forward who does a bunch of different things for us."
Arkansas won for the third time on the road this season after trailing by 11 or more points. The Razorbacks also overcame 11-point deficits to win 71-64 at Indiana on Dec. 29 and 76-72 at Ole Miss on Jan. 11.
"I think it was effort and willpower," Whitt said. "We faced a lot of adversity this week. We dropped one at home. Coming into this game we knew a win would get us back into the mix, when you're talking about SEC play. So it was a must-win for us. We all had that drive and that energy."
Arkansas stayed in the middle of the pack while Alabama (12-9, 4-4) lost a chance to nose toward the top of the standings.
"We fought for a while, but we just couldn't get it all together," Alabama Coach Nate Oats said. "If you don't have a defensive mindset, it's hard to win close games, and we just didn't have that mindset today.
"We've had this issue all year of maintaining our effort for 40 minutes. Our second half was bad."
Guard Jaden Shackelford hit 5 of 13 three-pointers and led the Tide with 28 points. Alex Reese scored 14 points, Kira Lewis added 12 and Javian Davis scored 11 for Alabama.
Lewis and John Petty, who combine to average 34.5 ppg, had 20 against the Razorbacks on 7-of-21 shooting.
"We were just not going to let those two guys, Kira and JP, hurt us," Musselman said. "That was something that we came into the game and said those two guys are not beating us. And if somebody else beats us, we'll live with it."
Alabama played without standout defender Herbert Jones, who is out three or more weeks with a fractured left wrist.
Arkansas guard Isaiah Joe, who was walking with a pronounced limp with ice on his ailing right knee after the game, suffered the first shutout of his college career. The Razorbacks' second-leading scorer went 0 for 3, all from three-point range, while playing 21 minutes. He logged less than six minutes in the second half.
The Razorbacks had role players to fill the void.
Jalen Harris scored 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting and provided a three-point shot from deep in the left corner to give Arkansas a 73-69 lead with 2:34 remaining.
Reggie Chaney provided 8 points and a game-high 11 rebounds while making 4 of 5 free throws before fouling out with 39 seconds remaining. Chaney's three-point play and a putback by Whitt gave the Razorbacks their largest lead of the game at 64-57 with 8:57 remaining.
"I thought we got some great minutes from some guys that we needed to step up tonight," Musselman said. "Jalen Harris was phenomenal. His three was a huge shot in the game.
"And I thought Reggie Chaney did a great job battling on the backboards in the second half when we didn't rebound the ball in the first half like we really needed to."
Alabama won the rebounding battle 41-34.
Arkansas, the nation's top three-point defensive team, limited the SEC's top three-point shooting team to 8 of 31 from behind the arc (25.8%).
Alabama broke on top with 4-of-4 shooting to claim a 12-0 lead as the Razorbacks missed their first seven shots.
Arkansas fought back to tie at 18-18 with a 15-4 run midway through the half spurred by four points from Harris and seven from Jones, who capped the stretch with the Hogs' first made three-pointer of the game at the 9:45 mark.
The Razorbacks used a 12-2 run a few minutes later to pull ahead 30-24 on a pair of Desi Sills free throws.
Alabama extended a 39-36 halftime lead to as many as eight early in the second half. Back-to-back Shackelford three-pointers made it 48-40 at the 17:30 mark.
Just like in the first half, the Razorbacks kept whittling away, using a 22-7 spree over a span of almost nine minutes to seize momentum.
Arkansas took the lead for good on a pair of Harris free throws at the 3:21 mark to make it 70-69. His unguarded three-pointer and four consecutive points from Whitt made it 77-70.
The Razorbacks hung on in the final minute with Harris and Jones combining to go 5 of 6 from the line.
Sports on 02/02/2020