HOUSTON — In a rivalry that dates back 93 years, the Arkansas men’s basketball team rallied from a halftime deficit Saturday afternoon to knock off Texas 77-74 in the Lone Star Shootout at the Toyota Center.
The Razorbacks (9-1) have won nine of their first 10 games for just the second time in the last seven years and the seventh time since joining the Southeastern Conference.
After trailing the entire first half, Arkansas cut the deficit to one before Daryl Macon was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 3:13 left in the period. Macon drained all three from the charity stripe to give the Razorbacks their first lead of the game. Texas then proceeded to end the half on a 7-0 run to give the Longhorns a 35-30 lead going into the locker room.
The Razorbacks were able to keep the contest close and slowly eliminate the five-point halftime deficit, with nearly perfect free throw shooting. Down one with 15:13 left in the game, Anton Beard went to the line and sank two free throws to give Arkansas the one-point lead. Texas tied the game up at 43-43 before the Razorbacks went on an 11-2 run to take their largest lead of the afternoon at nine. Texas was able to eventually tie the game with 4:41 left but was unable to regain the lead.
As a team, Arkansas went 29 of 31 from the free throw line, shooting 93.5 percent, the 10th best shooting performance from the charity stripe in Razorback history.
Daryl Macon made all 14 free throw attempts, which is tied for the sixth most made free throws in a game in school history. Macon’s performance at the line is the best since Courtney Fortson went 14 of 18 against Mississippi State in the 2009-10 season. Macon finished with a career and game-high 23 points to go along with four rebounds.
The Razorback bench came up big once again, outscoring the Longhorn reserves 30-4. Arkansas has outscored its opposition’s bench in nine straight games, including by a 100-24 margin in the last three contests.
Leading all bench players, Dusty Hannahs finished in double-figures for the 17th straight contest, scoring 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field and hitting three of six from behind the arc.
With a five blocks, Moses Kingsley has now had multiple blocks in seven of Arkansas’ 10 games this season, three or more in six contests. Kingsley finished with seven points and 10 rebounds.
UP NEXT
The Razorbacks return home to face the North Dakota State Bison on Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 6 p.m. on the SEC Network.
