Up 20, Arkansas hangs on to beat Lipscomb 69-66

Tramon Mark scored a game-high 17 points Saturday and Arkansas nearly blew a 20-point, second-half lead before holding off Lipscomb 69-66 in a nonconference matchup in North Little Rock, Ark.

The Razorbacks (7-4) led 61-41 with 10:53 left when Khalif Battle made a jumper but the Bisons (7-6) rattled off a 21-2 burst that pulled them within 63-62 on two Owen McCormack free throws with 4:29 remaining.

Lipscomb missed three shots down the stretch with a chance to take the lead. It even had a couple of opportunities to force overtime after Davonte Davis made a layup for Arkansas with 26 seconds left but McCormack missed a pair of 3-pointers.

Makhi Mitchell went 6 for 6 from the field and added 12 points for the Razorbacks, while Jalen Graham contributed 11. Arkansas got only 23 points from its starting lineup but was able to win because its bench scored a whopping 46 points.

Will Pruitt scored 15 points before fouling out late, leading four Bisons in double figures. MeCormack added 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Joe Anderson chipped in 11 points and AJ McGinnis hit for 10.

The pregame storyline concerned Arkansas coach Eric Musselman's call for his team to improve on defense, a big problem in a 79-70 loss Dec. 9 to Oklahoma that wasn't as close as the score showed. Musselman got his wish for most of the first half.

While Lipscomb led a couple of times early in the half, the Razorbacks also were able to string together multiple stops and establish a 23-16 lead at the 10:20 mark when Mark converted a long 3-pointer off a Layden Blocker feed.

The Bisons closed within 25-21 before Arkansas used an 8-2 spurt to grab its first double-figure lead at 33-23 on a layup by Travon Brazile with 4:58 left.

The margin reached 12 before Lipscomb was able to close within 41-33 at the break.

—Field Level Media