AUBURN, Ala.-Jaylen Barford scored 20 points and Dusty Hannahs added 18 and Arkansas held off Auburn 79-68 on Saturday to win its fifth consecutive game.
Daryl Macon added 13 for the Razorbacks (22-7, 11-5 Southeastern Conference), who dominated Auburn with 36 points in the paint.
Bryce Brown hit a 3-pointer to get the Tigers, who trailed by as much as 13 in the second half, within 67-61 with 5:45 remaining but the Razorbacks got a tipin from Trey Thompson and then made 10 of 10 free throws to close the game on a 12-7
run.
Arkansas shot 50 percent from the field, 52 percent in the second half, while Auburn shot just 37 percent on its home floor and was just 12 of 23 from the foul line. The Razorbacks were 16 of 20 from the line, 11 of 12 in the second half.
Jared Harper had 17 points and Mustapha Heron 16 for Auburn (17-12, 6-10).
BIG PICTURE
Arkansas: The Razorbacks won their fifth consecutive game, holding steady in the top four of the SEC
standings.
Auburn: Coming off a Tuesday win at LSU, Auburn lost for the fourth time in five games, further damaging of its hopes of reaching the postseason for the first time since
2009.
UP NEXT
Arkansas faces a daunting trip Wednesday to take on Florida, which sits second in the SEC standings. The Gators beat the Razorbacks 81-72 on Dec. 29.
Auburn travels on Wednesday to take on Georgia, which came back from 12 points down to beat the Tigers 96-84 on Dec. 29 but will be without injured forward Yante Maten, who scored 31 in the first meeting.