COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Arkansas' effort may have been questionable at times in SEC play this year, but Tramon Mark and Makhi Mitchell have turned it on. The result their combined 84 points Tuesday night paced a 78-71 win over the Texas Aggies. The Razorbacks played harder than A&M the entire 40 minutes.
It was a game the Razorbacks never let get away, Mitchell dominated the boards and inside in the first half and ended up with 22 points. Mark got hot in the second half and A&M couldn't make shots as he put up 26..
The Razorbacks simply refused to give up in this game. For a team that has just failed to show up at times this season, they got the lead midway though the first half and never really let it get away.
The Razorbacks led at halftime, 35-30, after grabbing the lead for the first time with 7:30 to play at 20-19 on a short jumper by Battle. It was Mitchell's play in the first half that took control. The big man down low, who suddenly found his groove a couple of weeks ago, led the Hogs with 15 points and 5 rebounds.
"Didn't know if I was going to make it back," Mark said later. "It's hard to win on the road in this league."
In the second half, Mark took over with his shooting as he continues to go to his left and get his shot off. Most of the time it goes on, but the surprising thing is nobody can seem to find a way to stop it. As ESPN analyst Jimmy Dykes said at one point, "if you let Mark go to his left and get that step-back three off that's on you." Everybody knows it's coming, but nobody's really been able to stop it.
It's a win that gives the Hogs some momentum for the the SEC Tournament if they can finish off this last stretch of games. Being competitive on the road again is a positive sign. The other thing is it seems Musselman may have finally figured out how to get them to play with effort.
The Razorbacks will return home to play Missouri on Saturday morning at 11 a.m.. At least Tuesday night's game was on the road because quick turnarounds have been a problem at times for the Hogs this year. The game Saturday will be broadcast on ESPN2 and fuboTV.
This story will be updated with postgame information later.
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