FAYETTEVILLE -- Another big comeback by the University of Arkansas basketball team fell short.
LSU beat the Razorbacks 94-88 on Saturday in Walton Arena before an announced crowd of 11,525 after the Razorbacks rallied from a 13-point deficit with 11:42 left in the second half to send the game into overtime.
Florida hung on to beat Arkansas 57-51 on Wednesday night in Walton Arena after the Razorbacks pulled within two points in the final minute after trailing by 16 points with 9:13 left.
"It's tough," said Arkansas sophomore forward Daniel Gafford, who scored a career-high 32 points. "To go out and play your tail off for 40 minutes, then to come out and have to play another five minutes for overtime and to have a loss like that, it's one that's going to hurt us real bad."
Gafford scored on a layup to give Arkansas an 83-81 lead in overtime, but LSU went ahead to stay when Ja'Vonte Smart hit a three-pointer to make it 84-83 with 4:11 left in overtime.
The Tigers (12-3, 2-0 SEC) pushed their lead to 92-86 on Skylar Mays' three-point play at the 1:29 mark. The Razorbacks couldn't pull closer than six points the rest of the game.
"Obviously, a disappointed locker room in there," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "Our guys spilled their guts and heart on that floor and were trying to find a way to win."
After Marlon Taylor hit two free throws to give the Tigers a 68-55 lead, Arkansas outscored LSU 26-13 during the final 11:12 of regulation.
Gafford dunked to tie the score 81-81 with 30.7 seconds left.
LSU sophomore point guard Tremont Waters dribbled the clock down, then missed a driving attempt with three seconds left. Naz Reid missed a putback attempt to send the game to overtime, where the Tigers regrouped.
"Tough road win," LSU Coach Will Wade said. "I thought our guys responded well in overtime.
"Arkansas did a great job. They did the same thing they did in the Florida game. They got down and they turned up the heat and came back. We lost our composure a little bit, but we were able to regain it in overtime, so I was really proud of our guys.
"This is a very, very tough place to play and good win for us, bringing six new guys on the road for their first SEC game. Really proud of our guys."
Reid, a 6-10 freshman, led the Tigers with 27 points. He hit 10 of 12 shots, including 4 of 4 three-pointers.
"The three-pointers that he hit, those were big threes," Gafford said. "Those were some real big plays. He came down, he took his time, and he knocked them down because, I mean, we left him wide open.
"That's our fault because we have to rotate on him, especially off the ball screen. But credit to him. It's just some stuff that we need to fix."
Reid came into the game 12 of 36 on three-pointers for the season, including 4 of 13 in the past eight games.
"I mean, if that was the game plan, I guess they read me wrong," Reid said of being left open on the perimeter. "I mainly just keep working in the gym. That's what made me convert those."
Anderson said the Razorbacks (10-5, 1-2) had some defensive lapses against Reid.
"We knew he was capable of shooting it, but not 4 for 4," Anderson said. "He was making some and our defense broke down, and he was involved in some screen-and-pops.
"He's a screen-and-pop guy, and they executed it. We talked about that we need to switch and be with him on that, but we didn't execute. We did a couple of times, but the most crucial moments we didn't and he made us pay for it."
Taylor, a 6-5 junior transfer from Panola (Texas) Junior College, scored 21 points, and Waters had 17 points, 11 assists and 3 steals.
"Those are some guys we haven't payed before, but they stepped up and made some big plays for them," Anderson said of Reid and Taylor. "Of course, you know Tremont is going to do his thing."
Sophomore guard Mason Jones scored 22 points for the Razorbacks after leading them with 30 against Florida. Freshman forward Reggie Chaney scored 12 points off the bench.
"I was disappointed in the outcome of the game, but I was not discouraged with the effort," Anderson said. "I thought we got better. That was probably one of our better halves -- that second half. We got into overtime.
"We talk about games coming down to the little things, and it came down to the little things again. Execution offensively and defensively. But give LSU a lot of credit. They made some big plays."
Arkansas had the ball with the score tied 75-75 and 77-77, but the Hogs couldn't take the lead when Waters stole a pass from Jalen Harris, and Isaiah Joe missed a jump shot.
"We just fortunately made a few more plays," Wade said. "Gafford was a man down there and did a tremendous job, and we didn't have many answers for him.
"We got a stop on him late, and that ultimately was the difference in the game."
LSU led 87-85 when Gafford was looking to tie the score for the seventh time, but Taylor stole the ball from him with 2:10 left in overtime. Waters then hit a layup for an 89-85 edge.
"I thought Marlon Taylor was huge for us," Wade said.
LSU outscored Arkansas by 21 points on three-pointers. The Tigers hit 10 of 25 from beyond the arc while the Razorbacks were 3 of 16.
"You look at a six-point game, and there's the difference," Anderson said of the three-pointers. "But we got to the [free-throw] line a little bit more than they did, and we didn't capitalize on that."
Arkansas hit 17 of 28 free throws -- after being 15 of 26 against Florida -- while LSU hit 18 of 22.
Gafford was 14 of 19 from the field, but 4 of 9 on free throws. He missed two free throws with 2:11 left in regulation with LSU leading 79-77.
"I missed two big free throws today," Gafford said. "We have to make sure we hit free throws, especially on the home court because we have to protect this place, and they can't just come into Bud and do whatever they want to.
"It's not called one of the hardest places to play in for nothing, so we just have to make sure we play defense, keep guys out of the paint and don't let them do what they want to do and make free throws. Those have been the only things that are taking us out the last couple of games at home."
Game sketch
RECORDS Arkansas 10-5, 1-2 SEC; LSU 12-3, 2-0
STARS LSU freshman forward Naz Reid (27 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists) and sophomore guard Tremont Waters (17 points, 11 assists, 3 steals). Arkansas sophomore forward Daniel Gafford (32 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocked shots)
TURNING POINT The Tigers outscored the Razorbacks 13-7 in overtime.
KEY STAT LSU hit 10 of 25 three-pointers compared to 3 of 16 for Arkansas.
UP NEXT Arkansas plays Tennessee at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn.
Sports on 01/13/2019