Late basket sinks Razorbacks at home

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Bobby Maze’s jumper with 5.4 seconds remaining in the game sent the Arkansas men’s basketball team to a 74-72 loss to Tennessee (14-7, 5-2) Wednesday night at Bud Walton Arena. The Razorbacks (13-7, 1-6) missed two shots at the basket before the final buzzer sounded in front of 15,055 fans.Stefan Welsh led Arkansas with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Michael Washington posted his ninth double-double performance of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Courtney Fortson added 19 points and six assists. In his first start of the season, Jason Henry chipped in 11 point and seven rebounds for the Hogs.The visiting Volunteers opened the second half on a 9-0 run to take a seven-point lead, but Arkansas rallied to tie the score, 44-44, on a Fortson three pointer that beat the shot clock. The Razorbacks took a five-point lead with 8:20 left to play, but with just under five minutes remaining Wayne Chism gave Tennessee the advantage, 64-61, with a three-point play.Chism led Tennessee with 22 points and nine rebounds.During the final three minutes of the game, the two conference foes traded baskets with neither team leading by more than two. With seconds ticking off the game clock, Fortson knocked in a driving basket to knot the score at 72 before Maze made the game winner for the Volunteers.The first half was characterized by big swings of momentum. Arkansas went nearly five minutes before knocking down its first field goal, a floater in the paint by Welsh. The basket sparked a 16-0 run for the Razorbacks who led, 17-8, with 9:22 remaining in the first half.Tennessee responded with 12 unanswered points to reclaim the lead, but it was short lived as the Razorbacks reeled off eight-straight points to take a 25-20 advantage.Washington scored a lay-in off a dish from Fortson with the first-half clock winding down and Arkansas took a 35-33 lead into the locker room.It was the Razorbacks’ first loss of the season when leading at the half.Arkansas returns to action Saturday with a road contest in Starkville at Mississippi State. The game is scheduled for a 2:05 p.m. start and will be televised by Raycom. For continued coverage and more information, visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.