FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – For the first 16 minutes, Auburn did just about everything right. But the momentum started to turn late in the first half, and Arkansas flipped the script in the second half, rallying for a 75-73 victory at home Wednesday night.
"Disappointing loss," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "We kind of let one get away. Great first 16 minutes of basketball on the road. We played really well at both ends. The last three or four minutes of the first half, we kind of took our foot off the gas and gave Arkansas some confidence."
The Tigers had chances to win it in the closing seconds. They used a 7-0 run late to draw within one, giving Sharife Cooper a chance to win the game. But with less than five seconds left, Cooper had his shot contested at the rim, and then after Arkansas made 1 of 2 free throws, Allen Flanigan's desperation 3 at the buzzer fell short.
"Our back was against the wall, and we fought to the end," Cooper said. "I'm proud of that. One play away. But I can take that and be happy with it – that we didn't give up, we fought to the end."
"We showed some heart and some character getting back in the game late," added Pearl. "Obviously didn't quit."
Cooper scored a game-high 25 points to lead Auburn. The freshmen point guard was 9 of 19 from the floor and knocked down a pair of 3s. He's now scored 25 or more points in three of the four games he's played in this season and is averaging 22.5 points per game.
Seven of Cooper's 25 points came in the first 10 minutes as Auburn jumped out to an early 23-8 lead on the road. But as good as the Tigers were offensively, they were even better on the defensive end.
This was the same Arkansas team who scored 97 points in Auburn Arena less than a month ago, and Auburn held them to two points over a span of eight minutes during what was a 16-2 run in the first half. At halftime, it was 43-31 in favor of Auburn, and the Tigers had forced 11 turnovers with five blocks and five steals.
It was a team effort, too. Allen Flanigan had four steals, three coming in the first half. JT Thor added three steals. Babatunde Akingbola and Javon Franklin each had two blocks apiece in the first 20 minutes while Jaylin Williams blocked a shot in each half.
On offense, Thor was second on the team with 12 points. The freshman big also pulled down a team-high five rebounds to go along with his three steals and two blocks.
The Tigers got a much-needed lift from Franklin midway through the second half when the junior knocked down back-to-back 3s – the first 3s of his Auburn career – to put the Tigers back in front. The Arkansas native finished with career highs in points (8), rebounds (4) and blocks (2).
Starters Jamal Johnson and Allen Flanigan both missed critical time in the second half due to foul trouble. The duo each saw 24 minutes on the court and combined for 16 points on the night.
It will be a quick turnaround for the Tigers (8-7, 2-5) who travel to South Carolina on Saturday. The game is scheduled to tip off at 11 a.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN2.