Meleek Thomas shot 5-for-6 from 3-point range en route to scoring 28 points and John Calipari won his 900th career game as the No. 20 Arkansas Razorbacks edged the Missouri Tigers 88-84 in overtime Saturday in Southeastern Conference action in Columbia, MO.
Arkansas (23-8, 13-5) won its regular-season finale despite not having Wooden Award finalist Darius Acuff Jr. on the court. The freshman sensation and leading scorer (22.2 points per game) for the Razorbacks sat out because of a nagging ankle injury.
A 19-point, nine-rebound performance from Trevon Brazile and 17 points from Malique Ewin helped make up for Acuff’s absence. Billy Richmond (10) and Dajuan Wagner (10) also reached double figures.
Mark Mitchell went off for 32 points to lead the Tigers (20-11, 10-8). Trent Pierce scored 13 and Jayden Stone tallied 11.
The two teams went to overtime tied at 74-74 and Pierce gave the Tigers a 77-76 lead on a 3-pointer with 3:53 to play.
Nick Pringle’s layup put the Razorbacks up 78-77 40 seconds later and Ewin drilled a 3-pointer for an 81-77 advantage. Missouri tied it at 81-81 on a layup by Shawn Phillips with 2:09 left.
Brazile’s 3-pointer with 38 seconds left made it 84-82 and the Razorbacks held on from there thanks to a couple of free throws by Ewin.
Arkansas won the first meeting against Missouri on Feb. 21 by a 94-86 score and this one was even more entertaining, featuring 12 ties and 12 lead changes.
Brazile’s 3-pointer to open the second half sparked a 5-0 run that gave the Razorbacks a 44-36 lead with 19:24 to play.
Missouri answered with an 11-0 run that propelled it in front 47-44 with 15:54 left after a layup by Stone while the Razorbacks went nearly five minutes without scoring.
Thomas soon evened the score at 49-49 with 14:08 left, burying a 3-pointer, and then hit another with 12:51 left for a 55-51 advantage.
Knotted at 73-73, Mitchell gave Missouri a 74-73 lead on a free throw with 50 seconds left. Thomas split a pair of free throws to tie it with 31 seconds to go.
Missouri had possession with seven seconds to go in regulation but a missed layup by T.O. Barrett sent the contest into overtime.
A 17-2 run allowed the Razorbacks to grab control late in the first half. A 3-pointer by Thomas made it 28-13 with 8:25 to play. The Tigers didn’t help their cause by going more than four minutes without scoring.
By halftime, however, the Tigers were within three points thanks to a layup by Mitchell, who faked a shot and then went strong to the rim with three seconds to play, making the score 39-36.
