No. 3 Alabama holds off Arkansas, joins Auburn atop SEC

Grant Nelson and Chris Youngblood scored 15 points apiece to help No. 3 Alabama post an 85-81 victory over Arkansas on Saturday night in Southeastern Conference play at Fayetteville, Ark. Mouhamed Dioubate had 14 points and Mark Sears added 11 as the Crimson Tide (20-3, 9-1 SEC) moved into a first-place tie with top-ranked Auburn in the SEC standings. Alabama has won six straight games and 14 of its last 15. Zvonimir Ivisic scored a career-best 27 points and collected seven rebounds for the Razorbacks (14-9, 3-7), who had a two-game winning streak snapped. Adou Thiero scored 22 points and Johnell Davis added 13 points. Alabama shot 54.8 percent from the field but was just 5 of 19 (26.3 percent) from behind the arc. Arkansas shot 43.1 percent from the field and was 7 of 20 (35.0 percent) from 3-point range. Ivisic made five 3-pointers and also had three blocked shots and three steals. Arkansas trailed by 15 with five minutes to go before ripping off 12 consecutive points. Billy Richmond III delivered a thunderous flying dunk to pull the Razorbacks within six and Ivisic followed with a trey to bring Arkansas within 79-76 with 2:57 to play. Sears scored on a layup 31 seconds later to stop the Razorbacks' run, and the Crimson Tide clinched the win when Chris Youngblood split two free throws with 1.4 seconds left. Alabama scored 14 of the first 20 points in the second half to turn a six-point lead into a 54-40 advantage. A short time later, Youngblood converted a four-point play and Nelson added a basket to make it 60-43 with 13:14 remaining in the game. The Crimson Tide led by 18 a short time later before the Razorbacks made a push. A 3-pointer by Davis brought Arkansas within 75-62 with 5:55 left in the game. Nelson made two free throws to give Alabama a 79-64 lead with five minutes left before Arkansas began its frantic dash. Alabama shot 59.3 percent from the field in the half while taking a 40-34 lead at the break. Ivisic scored 15 in the half for the Razorbacks. Two treys in 30 seconds by Ivisic pulled the Razorbacks within 31-30 with 7:10 left before Alabama controlled the rest of the half. --Field Level Media