Despite a combined 54 points from Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford and KeShawn Murphy, the 21st-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks captured an 88-75 win at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark., on Saturday.
“I thought our guys battled tonight,” Auburn head coach Steven Pearl said. “Playing a shorter rotation, heavy minutes for a lot of our guys. Good job of putting out the effort required for us to have a chance. We had some step-up from Murph and Tahaad offensively. We weren’t able to get enough stops to stay in the game and didn’t make enough easy open ones as the game went on.”
Murphy was the best big man on the floor for the Tigers, logging his fourth double-double this season (his second against Arkansas) with a career-high 22 points and 12 rebounds.
“He played with great pace and great tempo,” Pearl said of Murphy, who also added a steal and assist. “He did a really good job of taking what the defense gave him. He was explosive tonight and that’s the Murph we need every single night for us to win.”
Pettiford logged his third consecutive 20-point game, pouring in 29 points – 17 in the second half – with four triples and seven assists.
“He’s been phenomenal offensively the last three games,” Pearl said. “He’s doing his part offensively. I’m going to continue to push him defensively. He’s giving the effort that’s required. He’s really been consistent with his routines during the week in preparation for the games. When he’s making shots like that, our ceiling goes way up. He makes our team better.”
Pettiford and Murphy combined for 30 of Auburn’s 32 first-half points.
“Did a good job in the first half of dwindling it down to six,” Pearl said. “Beginning of the second half, we missed three wide-open shots, and they come down and convert on all three. That was ultimately where the game got away. It got up to 21, and you’re fighting back the rest of the game.”
Arkansas freshman Darius Acuff Jr. tied his career-high with 31 points on a 7-of-10 clip from deep, while adding seven assists.
“He’s a phenomenal player,” Pearl said. “We did a great job on him the first game and obviously didn’t do very well on him tonight.”
Billy Richmond III also made a plethora of highlight plays, adding 25 points on 12-for-15 shooting for the Razorbacks.
“They had a lot of step-up,” Pearl said. “(Richmond) did a great job for them. He’s an X factor when he can do those things. Darius makes seven 3s. Those two things right there were ultimately where the game was decided.”
Arkansas broke open the game early in the second half with a 15-2 run, ignited by three Acuff 3-pointers in less than two minutes to take a 54-34 lead at the under-16 media timeout.
After trailing by 21, Auburn battled back, cutting the lead to single digits with a 7-0 run midway through the second half.
Richmond and Acuff combined for 18 of the Razorbacks’ final 23 points down the stretch to help Arkansas lead by double digits for the final 7:34 of the game.
Auburn remains on the road to play Mississippi State on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Miss. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 or ESPNU. TG
