Tramon Mark saved six of his 25 points for the final 1:50 of the second overtime and No. 20 Arkansas held on to defeat Stanford 77-74 on Wednesday in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Mark did almost half his scoring on a 12-for-15 performance from the foul line and Trevon Brazile snatched a game-high 17 rebounds to go with 14 points for the Razorbacks (4-1). Arkansas moves on to a Thursday semifinal against Memphis, which beat Michigan 71-67 on Wednesday.
Spencer Jones put up a game-high 27 points for the Cardinal (3-2), who will duel Michigan in a consolation-bracket game on Thursday.
Inspired by a game-saving 3-pointer by Benny Gealer at the end of the first overtime, Stanford twice pulled within one point in the final 1:24 of the second extra session, only to see Mark counter both times.
The junior guard nailed a jumper for a 75-72 lead with 1:02 to go, then dropped in a layup with 19 seconds left for another three-point lead after Jones had buried a jumper for Stanford.
The Cardinal had two subsequent chances to force a third overtime, but Jones and Gealer misfired on 3-point attempts in the final seconds.
Each team appeared to be in control late in regulation and the first overtime, but two free throws by Davonte Davis capped a 4-0 finish that allowed Arkansas for force the first extra five minutes, and Gealer banked in a desperation 30-footer at the overtime buzzer to draw Stanford even at 66-all and send the game to a second extra session.
Davis finished with 10 points, while Chandler Lawson chipped in with nine points and 13 rebounds for the Razorbacks, who prevailed despite shooting just 30.3 percent from the field.
Arkansas’ big advantage came at the free-throw line, where the Razorbacks went 26-for-33. The Cardinal were 13-for-24 on foul shots.
Jared Bynum had 13 points and a game-high eight assists, while Maxime Raynaud pulled a team-high 10 rebounds to complement eight points for Stanford, which was playing a ranked opponent for the first time this season.
–Field Level Media
