Auburn Tigers at Arkansas Razorbacks

Brown's 9 3-pointers lifts Auburn past Arkansas, 90-86

For a moment, at least, Bryce Brown gave the Auburn coach a ray of hope in what has otherwise been a dismal season on Wednesday night.

Brown and the rest of his teammates had no such shooting woes on Wednesday, combining to shoot a season-high 61.1 percent (33 of 54) while connecting on 15 of 23 3-pointers while earning their first win in Fayetteville since 2009.

"To say that our team needed that is an understatement," said Pearl, the former Tennessee coach in his second season at Auburn. "But one thing that you can see is our kids haven't quit."

Tyler Harris added 19 points, and Cinmeon Bowers had 14 points and 10 rebounds for an Auburn, which topped its previous best shooting performance (58.1 percent) of the season in a win over Northwestern State on Nov. 27.

Brown's previous career high was 20 points against Tennessee on Jan. 2, and the most 3-pointers he had hit before Wednesday was six against LSU on Feb. 2.

"I think this is one of my most pure games," Brown said. "We got in here earlier today, got a lot of shots and had a very good walkthrough. We just prepared well."

For Arkansas (12-14, 5-8), the loss was yet another in a series of disappointments in a difficult season following last year's 27-9 record and NCAA Tournament appearance.

The loss was the third straight for the Razorbacks, the first time the school has lost three in a row since 2012.

Anthlon Bell had 21 points to lead Arkansas, while Moses Kingsley added 20, but the Razorbacks had no answer defensively for the Tigers.

"They're a team that hadn't been shooting the ball very well, but they shot the ball unbelievable tonight," Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said. "Part of that was them, and we let them get into a nice rhythm. I'm disappointed in our defensive effort."

However, with Bowers scoring 12 of his points in the second half, the Tigers surged back into the game. Lang hit back-to-back shots from behind the arc to give Auburn an 83-79 lead, and Brown then added his ninth 3-pointer to put the Tigers up 86-81.

Bowers added free throws in the final minute to help secure the victory.

"I really thought we were going to put them away in the second half, for sure," Arkansas point guard Jabril Durham said.

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TIP-INS

Auburn: The first half marked the first time the Tigers have topped 60-percent shooting in a half since a 34-of-52 effort (65.4 percent) against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in 2013. The last time Auburn had shot more than 60 percent in an SEC game was against the Razorbacks in 2010.

Arkansas: Durham had 12 points and 10 assists for the Razorbacks, the sixth time this season the senior has finished with double digits in assists. Dusty Hannahs also finished in double figures with 18 points.

TIGERS TOUCH

Of the several Tigers who had quality shooting performances, Land was 6 of 7 overall from the field while matching his career high with five 3-pointers. Harris also shot the ball well and finished 8 of 11 overall, while Auburn's 3-point percentage (65.2) was a season high.

UP NEXT

Auburn hosts Mississippi on Saturday.

Arkansas hosts Missouri on Saturday.

How can I watch Auburn vs. Arkansas?

• TV Channel: Auburn at Arkansas 2021 College Basketball, week 15, is broadcasted on SEC Network.
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