NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Darius Acuff Jr. backed up his SEC Player of the Year honors with 37 points the second-most by a Razorback in the SEC Tournament- to lead #17 Arkansas to an 82-79 victory over #11 seed Oklahoma in the SEC Quarterfinals Friday night at Bridgestone Arena.
Arkansas, the #3 seed, advances to play #15 seed Ole Miss in the semifinals on Saturday at 2:30 pm. The game will be televised on ESPN.
As it did in a win in Norman earlier in the year, Arkansas trailed at halftime and the second half was a back-and-forth affair.
The Razorbacks were down four with 9:38 to play. The Hogs tied the game and, over the next four minutes, there were three ties. The last tie was 67-67 with 5:38 to play before Arkansas went on a 9-2 run to lead by seven (76-69) with 2:27 to play.
Oklahoma kept battling and was down two with 53 seconds left. With 29 ticks left, Oklahoma’s Mohamed Wague blocked a shot but Arkansas retained possession. With five seconds left on the shot clock, Acuff took the inbounds pass and made a tough jumper on the right baseline to give Arkansas some breathing room. Meleek Thomas sank two free throws with 18 seconds left to put Arkansas up four. After a basket by the Sooners, Acuff went 1-of-2 at the line with 10 seconds left. Oklahoma had one last 3-point attempt but came up empty.
Trevon Brazile added sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Acuff added five rebounds and five assists.
Oklahoma was led by Nijel Pack’s 19 points. However, he scored 16 first-half points and was just 1-of-7 from the field in the second half. Tae Davis and Derrion Reid each scored 17 points and Wague added 13.
The Rebels defeated Texas in the opening round, Georgia in the second round and #2 seed Alabama in the quarterfinal to reach the semifinals.
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