By Otis Kirk
Arkansas had a 12-point lead and appeared to have things under control, but Texas A&M closed the game on an 11-3 run to take a 62-56 win over Arkansas on Wednesday night in College Station.
Eric Musselman saw his Razorbacks lose a game they needed to win following a home loss to Mississippi State this past Saturday. He talked about how the Aggies closed the game to get the win.
"We haven’t been very good closing on the road at all," Musselman said. "We’ve lost a tremendous amount of close games. So closing has been an issue for this group. It started at the end of the half when (Hayden) Hefner hit the three. And then they came out and knocked down threes to start the second half.
"Then our shot selection, our passing was poor late game. I mean, 1 of 10 from three in the second half. And then we shoot 50% from the foul line in a close game. That’s not a recipe to win a game."
The Aggies shot 50% from behind the 3-point line which certainly didn't make Musselman happy.
"And then we have gave up 6 of 12 from three for them," Musselman said. "I’ve said it all year long, if we don’t guard the three, we’re not going to win games. Defensively we were better rebounding the ball than we were in Bud Walton, but they did come up with some crucial rebounds. Our shot selection … you know … We struggle to close games."
The Razorbacks held a 33-24 lead at halftime. It would have been more had the Aggies' Hefner not hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Musselman was asked if the Aggies made any adjustments in the second half to score 38 points?
"Well, they were 11 of 27 from the field," Musselman said. "So they shot 40 percent. Not great, not bad. But, as I've mentioned, they went 4 of 5 from three and we shoot 36 percent in the second half. So, therein lies the outcome."
Arkansas had won two road games in a row before falling to the Aggies. Arkansas is now 2-6 on the road this season including three after having a double-digit lead.
"Well, I said that this team has struggled unlike a group that I've had since I've been coaching college," Musselman said. "This group has struggled to finish games. We played a close game against Creighton. We played a great game against Baylor and came up short.
"So, you know. I mean, I don't know how to explain it. We have not played good. I just explained everything. We gave up 6 of 12 from three. We went 1 of 10 from three in the second half. So, we went 1 of 10 from three in the second half. They hit a three at the end of the half, and then they hit two or three early in the second half, and therefore you're going to lose the basketball game."
Nick Smith Jr. only played four minutes in the game including none in the second half. Musselman was asked about the absence of Smith who missed his only shot and had two turnovers?
"We’re just trying to win a game and keep our season alive," Musselman said.
Wade Taylor IV led all scorers with 18 points including 16 in the final 20 minutes.
"Well, I think he had 18 or 19 in Bud Walton," Musselman said. "He's one of the best scoring guards in the league. He's quick. He's one of the best free throw attempt players in the country. He got five FTAs, which is a pretty good number but not anything that killed us. Again, his 3 for 5 from three really hurt us. They made six threes and he made three of them. So, his deep three-point shots I thought impacted the game tremendously."
Dexter Dennis added 14 points and Tyrece Radford had 12. Texas A&M (19-7, 11-2) moved to within one game of first-place Alabama who lost to Tennessee on Wednesday night.
Arkansas was led by Davonte Davis with 14 points, three rebounds and three assists. Makhi Mitchell added 11 points and nine rebounds with two blocks. Anthony Black contributed nine points, three rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Jordan Walsh had eight points and five rebounds.
Arkansas (17-9, 6-7) will be at Bud Walton Arena on Saturday to play host to Florida. The Gators defeated Ole Miss 79-64 so they will bring a one-game winning streak into Fayetteville. However, the Gators have lost standout Colin Castleton to a broken hand. He was leading the Gators with 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and three blocks per game. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
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