Arkansas falls to Missouri in regular-season finale

Arkansas' Daniel Gafford argues a call with a referee during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Missouri, Saturday, March 3, 2018, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)
Arkansas' Daniel Gafford argues a call with a referee during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Missouri, Saturday, March 3, 2018, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

— Jontay Porter scored 19 points and Missouri defeated Arkansas 77-67 on Saturday.

The Tigers (20-11, 10-8 Southeastern Conference) attacked the post all night, whether it was Porter or Jeremiah Tilmon, who finished with 17 points.

Arkansas' Daniel Gafford played well in the post as well, scoring 16 points. But Gafford and the Razorbacks ran into foul trouble early. Missouri looked aggressive in the post, and the Tigers finished with a 37-25 rebounding advantage.

Jordan Barnett finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, his fifth double-double this season. Kassius Robertson scored 14 points.

Gafford's 16 points led Arkansas (21-10, 10-8), which tried to use the press to draw itself closer throughout the second half. It worked to an extent, but the Razorbacks couldn't stop fouling. The Tigers finished 27 of 33 from the free-throw line. Arkansas was just 12 of 15.

Missouri built up an eight-point lead at the break with an 11-0 run midway through the opening half followed by a late 7-0 spurt. The Tigers also put together a 12-2 run with 9:05 left in the game.

Unlike in previous contests, the Tigers were able to pull away late. Arkansas was down six with 10:18 remaining, and couldn't pull any closer.

BIG PICTURE

Arkansas: The Razorbacks had momentum following a win over No. 14 Auburn, which was their sixth win in seven games. But in a tough road environment, Arkansas had trouble defending Missouri's post players.

Missouri: After losing three straight, Missouri has now won its last two. The Tigers' bigs __ Porter and Tilmon — are heating up at the right time. If Missouri can continue to thrive in the paint, the Tigers will be a scary SEC tournament team.

EARLIER

Missouri 77, Arkansas 67 - Final

Jontay Porter, Jeremiah Tilmon and senior Jordan Barnett were too much for Arkansas on Saturday. The trio combined for 55 points and Tilmon collected a career-high 17 points and eight rebounds. Barnett added 19 on 5 of 7 from deep.

Daniel Gafford led Arkansas with 16 points and four rebounds. Daryl Macon added 12 while Jaylen Barford and Anton Beard finished with 11 apiece.

Arkansas is the 6 seed in next week's SEC Tournament and will play on Thursday night.

Missouri 67, Arkansas 61 - 3:38 left

Daniel Gafford scored four points - two free throws, dunk - since the last media timeout and Arkansas is back within six. Jontay Porter will be at the line for two shots when play resumes.

Gafford now has a team-high 16 points on 7 of 10 from the floor. Daryl Macon has six assists to go with eight points. He has not scored in the second half.

Missouri 63, Arkansas 55 - 7:16 left

Jordan Barnett has a team-high 10 points for Missouri since the break. He has 16 for the game while Jontay Porter has 13, including a 3 that put the Tigers up 10 with 9:36 left.

Daniel Gafford opened the second half strong, but Arkansas has gone away from him. His last shot attempt came at the 16:10 mark.

Missouri 56, Arkansas 51 - 11:17 left

An Anton Beard floater following a Missouri turnover tied the game at 51, but the Tigers quickly answered with five straight to regain the lead. Jeremiah Tilmon, after two free throws, has a career-high 17 points on 5 of 10 from the floor and 7 of 10 at the line.

Daniel Gafford and Jaylen Barford each have six points since the break to lead Arkansas. Daryl Macon hasn't scored in the second half but has three assists.

Missouri 45, Arkansas 42 - 15:54 left

Daniel Gafford has six points since the break to keep the Razorbacks in this one. He's been great today - 12 points on 6 of 9 from the floor. He didn't score or record a shot attempt over the final eight-plus minutes of the half, so it's good to see him being aggressive to begin the second.

Missouri 39, Arkansas 31 - Half

Arkansas made just 1 of its last 7 shots to close the half and fell behind by as many as 10 in the final minute. Daryl Macon added two free throws to set the halftime score. He has a team-high eight points and three rebounds.

Jeremiah Tilmon was excellent for Missouri in the first half. He poured in a game-high 12 points and was the recipient of a couple of buckets off Jontay Porter feeds out of a double team. Kassius Robertson has nine points and Porter added eight and five rebounds. Jordan Barnett has six points and seven boards.

Missouri 28, Arkansas 26 - 4:00 left first half

The Razorbacks did a great job weathering the Missouri rally and responding to remain in solid shape at the final media timeout of the half. Daryl Macon got a pair of free throws to fall before the break, pushing him to six points. He also has two boards and two assists.

Missouri is leading the rebounding battle 18-13. Eight of the 18 boards for the Tigers are on the offensive end and they've led to 10 second chance points.

Missouri 22, Arkansas 18 - 7:58 left first half

Missouri's offense is surging. The Tigers, after falling behind 14-7, reeled off 11 straight points. Jordan Geist and Jeremiah TIlmon then added buckets to balloon Missouri's lead to as many as six.

C.J. Jones straight up threw the ball out of bounds after hesitating on a 3-point attempt at the top of the key. Daniel Gafford leads Arkansas with six points.

Jordan Barnett and Kassius Robertson each have six for Missouri.

Arkansas 14, Missouri 10 - 11:55 left first half

C.J. Jones continues to shoot the ball well of late. His four-point play gave Arkansas a 14-7 lead prior to a Jordan Barnett 3. Jones is now 6 of his last 7 from deep over the last three games.

Arkansas 9, Missouri 7 - 14:57 left first half

The Razorbacks got off to a great start. Daryl Macon opened the game with a floater in the lane and Anton Beard followed with a 3 from the right wing. Daniel Gafford has four points on 2 of 3 from the floor.

Jontay Porter got Missouri on the board after Arkansas took a 5-0 lead, and Kassius Robertson buried a corner 3 just before the first media timeout.

Arkansas is wearing its black PK80 uniforms today. Really sharp look.

Pregame

Arkansas will start Anton Beard, Daryl Macon, Jaylen Barford, Dustin Thomas and Daniel Gafford.

Missouri is running with Kassius Robertson, Jordan Barnett, Jeremiah Tilmon, Kevin Puryear and Cullen VanLeer.

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