The Iron, and Final Result, Unkind to IU

Sunday, November 18

Fayetteville, Ark.

3:30 PM

Indiana University

3-1

Arkansas

2-1

Indiana

Arkansas

11/18/2018 5:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)VIDEO: Highlights VIDEO: Coach Miller Postgame Photo Gallery Postgame Notes Postgame Quotes

By: Andy Graham, IUHoosiers.com

By Andy Graham, IUHoosiers.com

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The ball hung on the rim.

Somehow it didn't fall.

So Indiana did, 73-72, Sunday afternoon at Arkansas.

The Hoosiers rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half to gain the lead a couple of times and had a chance to win at the very end.

IU freshman guard Rob Phinisee drove the lane in the final seconds, with the game tied 72-72, but his layup under duress rolled out. Junior center De'Ron Davis was there for the tip but the ball stayed tantalizingly atop the rim and didn't drop.

During the ensuring rebound battle, Arkansas sophomore Mason Jones sailed in, slammed into Davis and ripped the ball away, taking Davis' arm and hand with him, and Davis was called for a reach-in foul at 0:02.5.

Jones hit the deciding free throw and missed the second try on purpose, relegating IU to a forlorn full-court heave by Juwan Morgan as the final horn sounded.

And so Arkansas won its 41st straight home game under Coach Mike Anderson after having led at half, and went to 127-7 against non-conference competition under Anderson at Bud Walton Arena.

Arkansas 6-foot-11 sophomore Daniel Gafford was superb on both ends – finishing with game-high totals of 27 points (with 12-for-15 shooting from the field) and 12 rebounds, along with three shot-blocks and two steals.

The Razorbacks came up with eight steals to help fuel IU turnover woes.

"Just coming down here, first game on the road, playing against Arkansas at their place is very difficult," Hoosier head coach Archie Miller said on the radio post-game. "Their pressure is up for 40 minutes. They get you playing at a speed where you make some uncharacteristic mistakes.

"Just circle the 18 (IU) turnovers. It doesn't matter where you go, you're going to have a hard time winning the game – 18 times we didn't get a shot. Defensively, we had a hard time with Gafford most of the game, and foul trouble played a real big part in this game."

Indeed, the Hoosiers played the final 17:25 of the first half without stalwart senior frontliner Juwan Morgan, who picked up two quick fouls. And Phinisee picked up his second and sat with 10:34 left before intermission.

And Indiana was already short-handed with Zach McRoberts, Devonte Green, Jerome Hunter and Race Thompson all still sidelined by injuries.

"We are who we are, in terms of our rotation right now, but we didn't get enough of J-Mo (Morgan) in the first half to really help us," Miller said. "You could see, in the second half, he was really aggressive with what he was trying to do. We had some guys do some good things, as well."

Indiana managed a 14-9 start, but Arkansas took a 15-14 lead with two Jones free throws at the 10:34 mark, and the Hoosiers – looking a bit lost in the halfcourt without Morgan – had a stretch where they missed eight of nine shots.

But IU frosh Romeo Langford then helped make sure his team stayed close. He scored eight points in a 3:25 span, capped by two free throws forging a 29-29 tie.

It was deadlocked at 35-35 before Gabe Osabuohien hit a 3 to send the Hogs into halftime up 3. Langford had 11 of his team-high 22 points by then, and Gafford had 10 to lead Arkansas.

Phinisee picked up his third foul with 18:16 to play and the Hoosiers hit another cold spell to start the second half, going scoreless for the first 3:20 before Morgan hit 1 of 2 free throws. By that time, Arkansas had already surged to a 45-36 lead.

It was 51-41, Hogs, with 14:16 to play when Indiana began working its way back into contention.

Morgan arose from the right win for a 3, starting a stretch where he scored half of IU's next 22 points, with the rest supplied by Davis and Langford.

"Yeah, he just said, 'the heck with it,' because he hadn't gotten any rhythm (earlier)," Miller said of Morgan. "He started to be a force on the glass. And once we started actually running some offense, able to get it inside a little bit, we played better.

"I thought De'Ron did a nice job, too, when he was in there. Those two guys gave us a chance."

Morgan's second 3 of the sequence tied the game 63-63 with 5:40 left, then consecutive 3s by Landford created a 69-69 tie at the 3:17 mark.

But all the while, Gafford seemed unstoppable at the other end. He scored 14 straight Arkansas points during that span before Jones scored off a steal at the 3:33 mark.

There were still too many wasted possessions for the Hoosiers at crunch time.

"We just couldn't execute (consistently)," Miller said. "They took us out of our offense. They blew up set plays. We probably had five or six turnovers we didn't need to commit – whether it was with numbers in transition or inbounding against the press.

"You take young kids and put them in this environment, and this is something they're going to remember. And this is how you improve as a team. You learn you have to get better fast, because this is the real competition level."

But down 72-69, Phinisee didn't balk. After a nice extra pass from Al Durham, Phinisee hit a 3 from the right wing for a 72-72 tie at 0:46.

Jones missed a baseline jumper at the other end and Razorback point guard Jalen Harris couldn't stay inbounds on the rebound. And so the Hoosiers had the ball and a chance to win.

"Give (our guys) some credit," Miller said. "They hung in there. I thought we had a great opportunity to win the game, especially in that last possession with the tap, and we'll have to look at the film on the call."

Langford posted a double-double in his first college road game, adding 10 boards to his 22 points. Morgan finished with 15 points, all after halftime, with Durham adding 11 and Davis 10.

Joe (13 points) and Jones (11) joined Gafford in double-figure for Arkansas (2-1).

Indiana (3-1) outshot Arkansas from the field (.466-.438), including the 3-point line (.400 to .261), and the foul line (.667-.579). And the Hoosiers won the rebounding battle, 40-32. But the Razorbacks had 20 assists to IU's 13 and made six fewer turnovers.

"It's a learning experience, something we had to take home with us," Miller said. "As a group, as a unit, you have to go through some of these things to figure out how to play through adversity. And I thought we played through a lot of adversity today.

"Whether it was foul trouble, whether it was turnovers, our guys continued to battle, to fight, gave us a chance with the last possession to win the game. Unfortunately, it didn't go our way."