FAYETTEVILLE -- There wasn't a lot of defense played in Walton Arena on Saturday night.
That worked out well for Arkansas as the Razorbacks rolled to a 99-86 victory over LSU before an announced crowd of 16,099.
Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said the outcome was reminiscent of other wild high-scoring games in the series.
"There was energy in the building and the fans got a chance to see an exciting game," Anderson said. "It went as scripted.
"We've had some crazy, crazy games, but it was entertaining and it was up and down the floor.
"Congratulations to our guys for finding a way to gut it out, even as LSU made some unbelievable shots. The ball went on the top of the backboard and went in one time."
It was the most points Arkansas had scored in an SEC game since winning 101-87 at Auburn on Feb. 10, 2015.
"We got running, and when we run, we can score a bunch of points," said senior center Moses Kingsley, who led the Razorbacks with a season-high 24 points.
Arkansas (15-4, 4-3 SEC) seemingly had LSU (9-9, 1-6) put away several times, but the Tigers kept fighting back.
Two free throws by junior guard Anton Beard gave Arkansas an 87-70 lead, but LSU pulled within 91-85 on freshman forward Wayde Sims' dunk with 3:34 left.
Junior guard Jaylon Barford helped the Razorbacks regain control by scoring five points in the final 2:39 with a driving basket and hitting 3 of 4 free throws.
"Barford is a big key to our team," Beard said. "In games like this, when he's himself, it makes the game much easier for us as a team."
Senior guard Dusty Hannahs hit a three-pointer with 34 seconds left to make it 99-86.
"In the second half we continued to battle, but we gave up too many driving lanes and layups," LSU Coach Johnny Jones said. "It was very difficult for us to continue to cut into the deficit.
"Even when we got flowing offensively, I didn't think we had enough on the defensive floor to get stops and make it difficult for them. We've got to do a much job of protecting the paint and make them play over the top of us instead of by us.
Beard had 16 points, 7 assists and 2 rebounds in 34 minutes without a turnover.
"I was in control of myself," Beard said. "I wasn't rushing or trying to do something that I don't do.
"I'm real big on not turning the ball over, because that's not what guards should do. I was just slowing down and seeing guys that were open."
Anderson said it was good to see Beard bounce back from a subpar game in Arkansas' 62-60 victory at Texas A&M on Tuesday night when he had 2 points and 2 turnovers without an assist in 21 minutes.
"I thought he was focused and in charge and leading this team," Anderson said. "He made some shots, but I thought he made plays for other guys. He's one of those guys that has a lot of grit about him."
Junior guard Daryl Macon scored 15 points for the Razorbacks. Hannahs and Barford scored 14 points each, junior forward Arlando Cook had 8 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists and junior forward Trey Thompson had 6 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
"The balanced scoring, I think that's the beauty of our team," Anderson said. "You've got to pick out who you're going to zero [in] on."
Arkansas shot 53.2 percent from the field (33 of 62). Anderson said the Razorbacks got caught up in focusing on offense instead of defense after they jumped out to a 15-4 lead.
LSU shot 51.5 percent (32 of 62) from the field.
"Our defense was not up to our standards," Anderson said. "That's correctable there."
Freshman guard Sylar Mays led LSU with a season-high 22 points. Junior forward Duop Reath had 17 points, sophomore guard Brandon Sampson had 15 and sophomore guard Antonio Blakeney 14.
"I feel like we didn't play very good defense, especially the second half," Kingsley said. "But at the end of the game we came together and said, 'We need to get some stops right now,' and that's what we did."
The Tigers couldn't get the stops late they needed.
"I wouldn't say we ran out of gas," Mays said. "I think we just kind of lost focus. We've got to do a better job of getting timely stops."
Arkansas extended its winning streak to three games while LSU lost its fifth consecutive game -- the Tigers' longest losing streak since the 2010-2011 season when they lost 11 consecutive games under Trent Johnson.
Barford scored all of his points in the second half when he hit 5 of 10 shots after Arkansas had taken a 47-37 halftime lead.
"In the first half Jaylen was letting other guys make plays when they had it going on," Anderson said. "I thought in the second half he stepped up to the plate and the lane opened up."
The Razorbacks hit 25 of 35 free throws compared to the Tigers' hitting 15 of 30, including 4 of 14 in the second half.
"I thought fatigue became a factor," Anderson said. "People may not see that, but look at that free-throw line. When they had opportunities to cut into our lead, they were a little short."
Sports on 01/22/2017