FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas sophomore guard Mason Jones missed the front end of a one-and-one that may have iced Sunday's game with Indiana before Rob Phinisee's trey tied it at 72-72 with 48 seconds remaining.
Jones rebounded his reprieve on Indiana's second try at snapping the tie, got fouled and hit his first free throw with 2.5 seconds left to achieve a 73-72 victory in front of almost 13,000 fans at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. He intentionally missed the second free throw and a desperation heave at the buzzer went wide for Indiana (3-1).
All nine Razorbacks (2-1) to play scored, but it was sophomore Preseason All-SEC center Daniel Gafford who led the way with a career-high 27 points. He matched his career high of 12 rebounds, blocked three shots and made two steals before Jones rebounded De'Ron Davis' inside miss and drew a foul by Davis to set up the game-winner.
"Daniel Gafford was really, really tough handle for us today," Indiana second-year head coach Archie Miller said. "He was dominant. Give Arkansas credit. They played very good today."
Gafford said he did not play "weak" by trying to force his game like he did in the first two games of the season.
"This time, I let the game come to me instead of just trying to take it," Gafford said. "It just came smooth and out of nowhere."
"What can you say about Daniel?" Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson asked rhetorically. "He played his tail off on both ends of the floor starting the game off with a blocked shot that enabled us to get a basket at the other end. So, a good team win."
Freshman guard Isaiah Joe, out of Fort Smith Northside, scored 13 points and Jones augmented his 11 points with five rebounds, seven assists and zero turnovers. Anderson instructed Jones to miss the final free throw attempt on purpose.
"He had missed a free throw," Anderson said. "And they went down and tied it up and we had the ball and I told him, 'It's going to come back to you.'
"He got in the mix of it and he got up there and knocked the first one down. Then, timeout, and he missed the perfect free throw. That's what he missed."
Anderson said everyone got into the act defensively with a fatigue-forcing press that pried 18 turnovers from Indiana, while Arkansas committed just 12 turnovers. Miller said it was the game's most compelling stat, even as Indiana claimed the boards, 40-32.
Arkansas sophomore forward Gabe Osabuohien was 0-for-6 shooting on 3-pointers in his collegiate career. He hit a trey 25 seconds before intermission to enable Arkansas to hold onto the lead, 38-35, at the half.
Gafford smiled, but Jones stepped to his teammate's defense when asked if the Hogs knew it was their day when Osabuohien hit that late first-half trey.
"We see Gabe hit threes in practice all the time," Jones said.
"I thought one of the bigger plays right before halftime was Gabe hitting that 3-point shot," Anderson said. "I thought that kind of gave us a little lift going into halftime. Our bench was much better tonight and that was difference in the ball game."
The Razorbacks needed every shot they could hit and every play they could make given that "Indiana is a heck of a team and wouldn't go away and will be ranked and playing in the (NCAA) Tournament," Anderson said.
It also helped that Indiana returning star senior forward Juwan Morgan only played three first-half minutes because of foul trouble. Morgan tallied all of his 15 points and seven rebounds in the second half.
"Morgan got in foul trouble early and I thought that was big because of the size factor with Daniel Gafford," Anderson said. "We saw what Morgan was capable of doing in the second half."
Indiana's 6-6 freshman Romeo Langford scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. He is projected as a top prospect for next year's NBA Draft.
"The Langford kid, at times, we had no answer for, but we wanted to make sure he worked for everything," Anderson said. "We know he likes to get in that lane but he was knocking shots down from the perimeter."
Langford twice brought Indiana from down 10 points to lead during the second half only for Arkansas to take the lead back.
"I can't say enough about our guys resolve," Anderson said. "I thought the fight which enabled them to stay in this game, not only that we didn't panic. Indiana made a run and made plays and guess what, we answered on the other end. We made plays and we executed."
Arkansas will sandwich Thanksgiving with a Wednesday home game against Montana Sate (1-4) and a Friday home game against UT-Arlington (3-1). Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. at Bud Walton Arena. The Hoosiers will host the Mavericks on Tuesday.
Sports on 11/19/2018