Arkansas holds off Auburn 76-73 in SEC Tournament

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Nick Smith Jr. buries go-ahead shot late for Arkansas

Nick Smith Jr. sinks a nice shot to give Arkansas a 74-73 lead over Auburn late in the second half.

Mar 10, 2023, 02:36 am

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- — Anthony Black scored 19 points and Arkansas held off Auburn for a 76-73 victory on Thursday night in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

Auburn used a 15-6 run for a 73-72 lead with 41 seconds remaining for its only lead since scoring the first two points of the game. Nick Smith Jr. answered with a jumper for Arkansas, and Davonte Davis then forced a turnover and added a pair of free throws to cap the scoring with 11 seconds left. Wendell Green Jr. missed a 3-pointer to end it.

Arkansas will play second-seeded Texas A&M in a quarterfinal on Friday.

Black was 6 of 10 from the floor and made 7 of 9 free throws. Smith finished with 14 points for 10-seeded Arkansas (20-12), which avenged a 13-point loss to the Tigers on Jan. 7. Makhi Mitchell added 12 points and Jordan Walsh had 11.

The Razorbacks shot 56% overall, made 17 of 23 from the line and outrebounded the Tigers 37-19.

K.D. Johnson scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half to lead No. 7 seed Auburn (20-12). Allen Flanigan added 15 points, Johni Broome had 13 points and Green 11.

Arkansas took the lead three minutes into the game and led 37-33 at the break. The Razorbacks opened the second half on a 11-2 run for a 13-point lead with 17:00 minutes to play and stretched it to 15 points about three minutes later.

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