For a while, Arkansas appeared destined for a tough road loss at slumping Oklahoma on Tuesday. The Razorbacks, though, erased a double-digit first-half deficit, then used a late spurt to defeat the Sooners 83-79 in Norman.
Arkansas, which has won three straight, improved to 16-5 overall and 6-2 in the SEC to end the night a half-game behind first-place Texas A&M. The Sooners, losers of seven in a row after an 11-3 start, fell to 11-10 (1-7 SEC).
Oklahoma held a 38-25 lead with 7:24 remaining in the first half. But the Razorbacks stormed back, taking a 51-50 lead just past the three-minute mark of the second half.
From there, the lead changed hands multiple times before Nijel Pack’s three-pointer made it 79-77 Sooners with less than 90 seconds left. They wouldn’t score for the remainder of the night. Darius Acuff’s three-point play with 20 seconds left gave the Razorbacks an 81-79 lead before Meleek Thomas iced it with a pair of makes from the free-throw line. The 13-point comeback is the Razorbacks’ biggest of the season so far.
Acuff finished with a team-high 21 points and nine rebounds, finishing just shy of a double-double. Thomas chipped in 16 as the Razorbacks shot 56% from the field despite a 2-of-17 evening from beyond the arc. For the Sooners, Pack posted a game-high 22 points.
Both teams are back in action on Saturday. Arkansas hosts Kentucky for a 6:30 p.m. tip. Oklahoma welcomes Texas for a 2 p.m. ET contest.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
