FAYETTEVILLE — Tramon Mark made a shot with 1.1 seconds remaining and Arkansas defeated Texas A&M 78-77 in a classic Tuesday night at Bud Walton Arena.
Mark, who scored a career-high 35 points, initiated contact and made a shot over Texas A&M defender Jace Carter moments after Wade Taylor gave the Aggies their first lead with a three-pointer. Taylor scored a career-high 41 points to lead all scorers.
According to SEC Network, Mark and Taylor are the first SEC players in at least 25 years to score 35 or more points in the same game.
The Aggies bobbled the inbounds pass following Mark's make and could not get off a shot at the buzzer.
TRAMON MARK CALLED GAME. 😤@RazorbackMBB x 📺 @SECNetwork pic.twitter.com/nT82w8J4BW
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) January 17, 2024
“Coach drew up the play in the huddle,” Mark said on the Razorback Sports Network post-game radio show. “He told me to go get it and do what I did then.
“I’m glad he had full confidence in me and I had full confidence in myself, and my teammates put it on my back on that play and I got away with it.”
Arkansas (10-7, 1-3 SEC) snapped a three-game losing streak. The Razorbacks lost their first three SEC games by an average of 21.3 points.
Texas A&M (10-7, 1-3) trailed by as many as 20 points in the first half and was down 73-63 with 3:43 to play.
Taylor scored 10 points in the closing stretch. His layup with 50.8 seconds remaining tied the game for the first time since it was scoreless, and his three-pointer falling down with 7.6 seconds remaining gave the Aggies their first lead at 77-76.
Mark missed 2 of 4 free throws in the final 27.8 seconds to give Texas A&M a chance, but he made up for the misses with a make in the most critical moment. He shot 8 of 15 from the floor and was 17 of 22 at the free-throw line.
“We got the ball in the hands of who we needed to tonight, because T-Mark was playing with such great confidence," Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said. "Then we just spaced out. We had [Jeremiah] Davenport in one corner, we had El Ellis in the other corner, we had [Trevon Brazile] trailing as the inbounder and then we had [Keyon] Menifield on the 45-degree angle on the left side.
"We just said there's no way we're taking a three, we've got to go to the cup or at least get inside of that 12-to-14-foot range, really.”
The Razorbacks made 31 of 40 free throws. The teams combined for 73 free-throw attempts and 50 personal fouls, and the game took 2 hours, 40 minutes to complete.
"We struggled to defend without fouling," Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams told the Texas A&M radio post-game show. "Forty free throws is a lot, and when one player shoots over half of those, that's a lot."
Arkansas led 8-1 before the Aggies made their first shot more than 5 1/2 minutes into the game. Texas A&M was cold in the first half, including 14 consecutive misses from three-point range.
The Razorbacks led 46-32 at halftime.
Texas A&M opened the second half on a 14-4 run to pull within 50-46 on Taylor’s three-pointer with 13:10 remaining.
Solomon Washington hit a three-pointer with 9:24 left to cut Arkansas’ lead to 60-57, but the Razorbacks responded with a 10-3 run that grew the lead back to double digits. Then the Aggies finished with a flurry.
"I really appreciate the togetherness and the fight that we showed," Williams said. "We just dug a big hole at the start."
Mark became the first Arkansas player to score 30 or more points in an SEC game since J.D. Notae against Kentucky in February 2022. Mark eclipsed his previous career high of 34 of points set against North Carolina at the Battle 4 Atlantis on Nov. 24, when he left the game late in the second half on a stretcher with a back injury.
The Razorbacks have had 12 instances of a player scoring 30 or more points against the Aggies in a series that has been played 168 times and dates to Arkansas' inaugural season 100 years ago.
Mark was the third Arkansas player to score at least 30 in the last five seasons against Texas A&M, joining Mason Jones in 2020 and Notae in 2022.
Arkansas-Texas A&M Final Stats
Why Arkansas Won
The Razorbacks finally got off to a good start, which sustained them as they struggled to close out the Aggies.
Tramon Mark displayed his scoring potential, and Arkansas got a solid outing from El Ellis for the first time in weeks. The Razorbacks also shot above their season free-throw average and outscored the Aggies 31-23 at the line.
Why Texas A&M Lost
The Aggies could not overcome a poor shooting start. They were 11 of 38 overall and 1 of 15 from three-point range before halftime.
Texas A&M also committed 26 personal fouls that resulted in 40 Arkansas free throws. Sixteen of the fouls were called in the second half.
Player of the Game
Wade Taylor put the Aggies on his back and nearly brought them all the way back from a 20-point deficit.
The 41-point outing by the SEC preseason player of the year came on the heels of scoring 31 points against Kentucky three days earlier. He made 13 of 32 shots, including 5 of 14 three-point attempts, and was 10 of 13 at the free-throw line.
His 32 shots were the most attempted by an Arkansas opponent in an SEC game. He came close to setting the arena record for points by an opponent. Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks scored 45 at Arkansas in 2009.
Stat to Know
Arkansas has owned Texas A&M on its home court since the Aggies joined the SEC.
The Razorbacks won for the fifth consecutive time and improved to 10-1 in home SEC games against Texas A&M.
Dating to their days as Southwest Conference opponents, the Aggies have lost 15 of 16 in Fayetteville.
No Coleman
Henry Coleman, a 6-8 senior forward who averages 11.9 points and 8 rebounds, did not play for Texas A&M.
Coleman appeared to suffer a lower-body injury early during the second half of the Aggies’ 97-92 victory over Kentucky last Saturday. He was held to 4 points and 2 rebounds, and played 22 minutes against the Wildcats.
In three games against Arkansas last season, Coleman totaled 41 points and 31 rebounds. He had double-doubles in two of the games against Razorbacks — 18 points and 15 rebounds in an 81-70 loss at Bud Walton Arena, and 16 points and 11 rebounds in a 67-61 victory at the SEC Tournament.
Ellis Starts
Arkansas guard El Ellis started for the ninth time, but for the first time since a Dec. 21 game against Abilene Christian.
Ellis scored 15 points on 3-of-11 shooting and he added 6 rebounds and 2 assists in 31 minutes. He made 8 of 8 shots at the free-throw line.
His 31 minutes were his most since he logged a season-high 33 during a Nov. 13 game against Old Dominion. Ellis totaled 10 minutes combined in the Razorbacks’ first three SEC games, and he had not played double-digit minutes since he recorded 11 during a Dec. 4 victory over Furman.
Rebound!
Texas A&M, the nation’s leading offensive rebounding team, dominated Arkansas on the offensive glass, 19-3, as part of a 47-35 edge on the boards.
The Aggies led 25-9 in second-chance points, which keyed their second-half comeback. Andersson Garcia had 12 rebounds to lead all players.
Wardrobe Change
Buzz Williams, the impeccably dressed Texas A&M coach, ditched his signature three-piece suit at halftime.
When Williams came back onto the court for the second half he was wearing a sweater with a white undershirt. It also appeared he changed glasses.
Devo ejected
Arkansas guard Davonte "Devo" Davis was ejected with 4:41 remaining when officials assessed a Flagrant 2 foul against him.
It was at least the third career ejection for Davis, who was also thrown out of home games against Kentucky last season and Northern Iowa in 2021-22.
As he went up for a shot attempt, Davis' foot kicked Texas A&M's Jace Carter in the groin. Officials called it a player control foul in real time, then upgraded it to a Flagrant 2 after watching the replay monitor.
Arkansas led 70-60 at the time of Davis' ejection. The Aggies missed both free throws following the foul, but outscored the Razorbacks 17-8 after Davis left the game.
Arkansas guard Davonte Davis was issued a flagrant 2 foul on this shot attempt. You be the judge, was it the right call? pic.twitter.com/kj1kD4vjpb
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) January 17, 2024
Up Next
Arkansas is scheduled to host South Carolina at noon Saturday.
Texas A&M travels to LSU on Saturday at 3 p.m.