ST. LOUIS (AP) - Jaylen Barford scored 27 points and matched his career high with 10 rebounds to help send Arkansas to the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament with an 80-72 win over No. 23 Florida on Friday night.
The win ends an eight-game losing streak to the Gators for the sixth-seeded Razorbacks (23-10), who are now 5-1 against ranked opponents this season and advance to face No. 13 Tennessee on Saturday.
Barford was 9 of 17 from the field, hitting four 3-pointers, for Arkansas - which led by as many as 14 points in the second half before holding on in the closing minutes. Freshman Daniel Gafford added 16 points and also matched his career-best with 12 rebounds, keying an effort that saw the Razorbacks outrebound the Gators 43-28.
Keith Stone led third-seeded Florida (20-12) with 22 points and finished 8 of 10 from the field. Chris Chiozza added 16 points and KeVaughn Allen 11 for the Gators, who hit six of their first 10 3-pointers before hitting only seven of their next 22 to finish 13 of 32 overall from behind the arc.
Florida led by as many as eight points in the first half and was up 29-22 before Arkansas closed on an 8-0 run to take a 30-29 halftime advantage. The Razorbacks have won eight of their last 10 games.
BIG PICTURE
Arkansas: The last time the Razorbacks won a game against Florida was on Feb. 5, 2013, in Fayetteville. Since then, they had lost the eight straight games to add to a stretch of 13 losses in 14 games to the Gators. Arkansas has now won 40 straight games when leading at halftime, and it's well on its way to a third NCAA Tournament appearance in the last four seasons.
Florida: Allen is from Arkansas and played in at North Little Rock High School with Arkansas guard Anton beard. The senior scored a season-high 28 points in Florida's 88-73 win over the Razorbacks on Jan. 17, but he was held to a 4-of-11 shooting effort on Friday. The loss was the first of Allen's career against his home state, coming after he had been a part of six straight victories over the Razorbacks.
UP NEXT
Florida waits for its NCAA Tournament destination.
The Razorbacks face second-seeded Tennessee on Saturday.
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3/9/2018 10:58:40 PM (GMT -6:00)
