Auburn 79, Arkansas 76 - FINAL (OT)
Mason Jones scored 40 points for the Razorbacks, but the Tigers earn a hard-fought win in Bud Walton Arena after battling back from 11 points down with less than six minutes to play.
Samir Doughty led Auburn with 23 points and J'Von McCormick added 16 critical points.
Desi Sills pitched in 14 points for the Razorbacks and Adrio Bailey 11.
After Jalen Harris spun into the lane and put down a dunk with six minutes to play, Arkansas finished 2 of 11 from the floor.
We'll have more from tonight's game on WholeHogSports.com a little bit later.
Auburn 79, Arkansas 76 - 9.8 seconds left in overtime
Mason Jones missed a long 3 from the top of the key but followed his shot, stole the ball from Auburn and hit a layup and a free throw to pull the Razorbacks within one.
The Tigers hit two free throws on the other end, making this a three-point game. Arkansas calls for time.
Auburn 75, Arkansas 73 - 24.1 seconds left in overtime
Arkansas came up with a big steal on the defensive end, but Mason Jones split a pair at the line after drawing contact getting to the rim. Jones is up to 37 points, and he is 10 of 15 at the line.
Auburn has possession coming out of a timeout with 16 on the shot clock.
Auburn 75, Arkansas 70 - 1:20 left in overtime
Mason Jones initiated contact and drew a foul on Auburn, and Arkansas took a 70-69 lead after he split a pair at the line. Samir Doughty came down and did the same, except he knocked down both free throws, giving the Tigers a one-point lead.
J'Von McCormick then hit Isaac Okoro for a layup at the rim. Two Auburn possessions later Desi Sills fouled McCormick on a 3 and he hit 2 of 3 attempts to extend the Tigers' lead to five.
Arkansas 69, Auburn 69 - End of regulation
Jimmy Whitt inbounded to Mason Jones, who dribbled up the floor, picked up his dibble and found Jalen Harris for a left-wing 3 that missed to the right.
We're headed to overtime. Here's the reset:
Jones has 33 points, Desi Sills has 14 and Adrio Bailey 11. The Tigers went on a 12-1 run to take a lead late in the second half and ultimately force overtime.
Samir Doughty has 19 points for Auburn.
Arkansas 69, Auburn 69 - 6.5 seconds left
Auburn tied the game then briefly took a one-point lead. Mason Jones then split a pair at the line, then Arkansas' defense got its biggest stop of the season.
Razorbacks have possession with a chance to earn a signature win.
Arkansas 66, Auburn 62 - 2:53 left
Auburn has methodically chipped its way back into this game at the final media timeout. Jimmy Whitt also fouled a Tigers player following the Razorbacks' last offensive possession, which will send Auburn to the line with a chance to cut the Arkansas lead to two when play resumes.
The Razorbacks do not have a field goal in the last 3:06. A score of any kind would do them wonders with Auburn nipping at their heels.
History was made tonight as Mason Jones scored 30-plus points again, becoming the first Arkansas player to ever accomplish the feat. He has 30 points on 10 of 20 from the floor.
The biggest two-plus minutes of Arkansas' season are here. Lets see how it responds to the challenge.
Arkansas 59, Auburn 52 - 7:57 left
The Tigers added something of a fluky score between the timeouts on an alley-oop pass that was tipped in.
Mason Jones will be at the line when play resumes after drawing a foul going left off the bounce. Both teams are in the bonus the rest of the way.
Arkansas 59, Auburn 50 - 9:08 left
In what may have been the Razorbacks' most impressive two-minute stretch of the season, they outscored Auburn 11-0 and got huge, huge 3s from Mason Jones and Desi Sills, and a layup in transition by Jones that was assisted by Sills.
Jones is up to 27 points and Sills has 12, Adrio Bailey 11.
Arkansas has a chance to make a statement in these final nine minutes.
Arkansas 50, Auburn 48 - 11:20 left
Mason Jones is on another plane of existence. He's now scored 20-plus points in five straight games after hitting a 3 from the top of the key. Jones now has 22 points on 8 of 16 shooting.
Off a turnover forced by Jalen Harris, Jones found Adrio Bailey for an alley-oop that nearly brought the house down. Bailey has given Arkansas six big points and three boards since halftime. His production (11 points, five rebounds) has been a big plus.
Auburn will be at the line when play resumes. Jimmy Whitt fouled a Tigers 3-point shooter prior to the media timeout. Whitt has not had his best night. He's scoreless, missed all seven shots and has six rebounds.
Auburn 43, Arkansas 39 - 15:22 left
The Razorbacks came out of halftime hot with Mason Jones adding a bucket and Desi Sills hitting his third 3 of the night. Then Auburn responded with a 9-2 run to grab a lead.
Mason Jones is becoming increasingly frustrated with officials for not whistling Auburn defenders for riding him while he's dribbling the ball. He was hit with an offensive foul after barreling through a Tigers defender in the lane.
Jones has 17 points and Sills has nine on three 3s. Samir Doughty has 17 for Auburn and Isaac Okoro joins him in double figures with 10.
Auburn 34, Arkansas 32 - Half
The Tigers took control over the final six-plus minutes of the first half, outscoring Arkansas 11-2.
The Razorbacks missed their final 9 shots of the first half and got just two free throws from Mason Jones after the six-minute mark. Jones has a game-high 15 points on 5 of 10 from the floor.
Desi Sills also added six points and Adrio Bailey five, but Bailey sat a majority of the first half with foul trouble. Reggie Chaney finished the half with four points and four boards before picking up his second foul.
Samir Doughty leads Auburn with 13 points and is the lone Tigers player in double figures. Isaac Okoro has seven points as well, and Anfernee McLemore five. Austin Wiley, the Tigers' 6-10 forward, has four turnovers and three fouls to this point.
Auburn shot 39 percent in the first half and Arkansas was 41 percent. The Tigers went 8 of 11 at the line, and the Razorbacks were 2 of 5.
Arkansas 30, Auburn 27 - 3:58 left first half
Since Tigers coach Bruce Pearl called for time to slow the Razorbacks' 7-0 run, Auburn reeled off two quick scores to get back within three.
Anfernee McLemore was set up under the rim for a dunk on a nice after-timeout-play, then Isaac Okoro added a layup at the front of the rim after taking Jalen Harris off the bounce.
Reggie Chaney picked up his second foul attempting to dunk over an Auburn defender in transition. He and Adrio Bailey each have two fouls, bringing Ethan Henderson into the lineup for some big minutes.
Auburn forward Austin Wiley was hit with his third foul prior to the under-4 media timeout. That's potentially big for the Tigers.
Arkansas 30, Auburn 23 - 6:07 left first half
The Razorbacks are on a 7-0 run over the last one minute, 37 seconds.
Jalen Harris took Auburn forward Anfernee McLemore off the bounce for a layup, then Mason Jones drove into the lane and found Reggie Chaney for a layup, and finally Desi Sills buried a 3 from the top of the key.
Jones is up to 13 points and three assists while Sills has six points. Jimmy Whitt has not scored yet, but he does have a pair of steals to his credit.
Arkansas has hit 12 of its first 20 shots, and Auburn has missed 5 of its last 6 attempts.
Arkansas 21, Auburn 18 - 10:03 left first half
Mason Jones is on his way to another huge game, or at least it's looking that way.
The junior guard has 13 points on 5 of 8 from the floor and 3 of 5 from deep to go with two assists. Both of his assists have led to 3s, one by Desi Sills and the other by Adrio Bailey.
With the game tied 13-13, Auburn went on a quick 5-0 run, but Arkansas has now scored the game's last eight points. Jones, right before the media timeout, hit a really nice turnaround jumper from just inside the arc.
The Razorbacks are 8 of 13 from the floor and 5 of 7 from deep while Auburn is 7 of 16 and 3 of 9, respectively.
Arkansas 11, Auburn 8 - 14:36 left first half
The Razorbacks have come out firing tonight against the Tigers.
Mason Jones has knocked down a pair of 3s from the left wing and Adrio Bailey added another from the top of the key, giving Arkansas a 9-5 lead at the time.
A couple of possessions later, Bailey took Auburn guard Samir Doughty off the bounce and scored on him at the rim. Reggie Chaney also off to a good start on the defensive end. He has a block and a steal in the early going.
Doughty has all eight of the Tigers' points. He's hit a pair of 3s while the rest of his teammates are 0 of 3 from the floor.
Pregame
Arkansas' starting lineup: Mason Jones, Jimmy Whitt, Desi Sills, Adrio Bailey and Reggie Chaney.
A bit of news prior to tonight's game: Isaiah Joe is out indefinitely after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his injured right knee, according to Eric Musselman.
Jones has a chance to make a little history against Auburn. He has scored 30-plus points in back-to-back games, and with another 30-point game tonight he would become the second SEC player in the last 20 years to reach 30 points in three straight games. Since finishing just 1 of 9 from the floor at Western Kentucky, Jones has scored 20-plus points five times, 30-plus twice and 40-plus once.
Arkansas will need a big night from Chaney and Bailey, one would imagine. The Tigers are the fourth-best offensive rebounding team in the SEC through eight league games.
Auburn's starters: Isaac Okoro (6-6), J’Von McCormick (6-0), Samir Doughty (6-4), Daniel Purifoy (6-7) and Austin Wiley (6-10).
Doughty and Wiley are the two players to keep an eye on for Auburn. Both players enter tonight's game with a usage rate above 24 percent. Doughty is a candidate to get into the lane and draw contact and whistles, too. He scored 23 points against Kentucky on Saturday and 14 came at the line on 15 attempts. Doughty has taken 36 free throws the last three games.
Also dangerous is Okoro and McLemore. Okoro is kind of a do-it-all freshman, while McLemore adds more experience to the Tigers' lineup. He is also capable of knocking down some big 3s. Defending the 3-point line will be vital for Arkansas. Auburn does not shoot the 3 very well, but 43 percent of its shots from the field come from beyond the arc.