Arkansas overcame a 15-point deficit after halftime and a collapse in the final minute of regulation to defeat Vanderbilt 90-85 in overtime Wednesday in the first round of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The Razorbacks (16-16) advanced to play No. 15 South Carolina on Thursday at approximately 2:30 p.m. at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. The winner of that game will play Friday against No. 11 Auburn in the quarterfinals.
Arkansas must win five games in five days at the SEC Tournament to extend its season to the NCAA Tournament next week. The Razorbacks added five minutes to that tall task when they could not overcome Vanderbilt’s full-court press in the closing minutes of regulation.
Ezra Manjon scored four points in the final 13.2 seconds for the Commodores (9-23) to force overtime. His layup with 13.2 seconds remaining cut Arkansas’ lead to 78-76.
Following a steal by Malik Presley on a bad pass by Khalif Battle, Manjon hit a contested shot at the buzzer from near the free-throw line to force overtime.
The Razorbacks used a 10-1 run in overtime to put away Vanderbilt. Trevon Brazile’s three-pointer with 2:50 remaining put Arkansas ahead for good at 83-80.
Makhi Mitchell added a layup with 2:07 remaining on a pick-and-roll with Battle, and Battle’s three-point play with 1:39 to play gave the Razorbacks an 88-81 lead.
Battle scored 24 points to lead Arkansas. He went 13 of 14 at the free-throw line and the Razorbacks were 23 of 26 as a team.
Arkansas trailed 51-36 when Presley completed a three-point play with 16:55 remaining in the second half. But the Razorbacks responded with an 8-0 run to kickstart a relatively quick comeback.
Battle’s two free throws with 8:41 remaining tied the game at 58-58. From there the game had five ties and four lead changes in regulation.
Mitchell’s layup with 4:30 remaining put Arkansas ahead 70-68. That began another 8-0 stretch that allowed the Razorbacks to seemingly to take control.
Arkansas scored six consecutive points at the line between the 4:03 and 2:11 mark in the second half. Davonte Davis, Battle and Mitchell all made a pair of free throws to give the Razorbacks a 76-68 lead.
Vanderbilt’s full-court press gave Arkansas fits in the final two minutes, though, and gave the Commodores a chance at the end. The Razorbacks committed two turnovers in the final 1:39 and avoided a third turnover when the possession arrow favored Arkansas after a jump ball.
Manjon’s transition layup with 49.9 seconds remaining cut the deficit to 76-74. Tramon Mark missed a three-pointer with 21 seconds remaining, but El Ellis rebounded the miss and Battle made two free free throws with 17.8 seconds left to extend the lead to 78-74.
Then Manjon’s heroics forced overtime.
Manjon led all scorers with 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting. Ven-Allen Rubin added 21 for the Commodores.
Mark and Mitchell each scored 18 points for the Razorbacks, and Brazile had a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Arkansas shot 48.4% in the second half after struggling to 37% in the first half. The Razorbacks made 6 of their first 10 three-point shots after halftime to spur the comeback.
The game’s first 12 minutes were back-and-forth, but Vanderbilt used a 10-0 run to go ahead 37-25 with 3:43 left in the first half. Manjon’s step-back jumper at the first-half buzzer gave the Commodores a 41-27 lead at halftime.
The Razorbacks avenged an 85-82 home loss to Vanderbilt on Feb. 27. Arkansas will also be looking for a measure of revenge against South Carolina, the No. 5 seed at the tournament. The Gamecocks won 77-64 in Fayetteville on Jan. 20.