NASHVILLE, Ark. — Khalif Battle finished with 24 points, six rebounds and three assists, Tramon Mark added 18 in the second half and No. 12-seed Arkansas stormed back to defeat No. 13-seed Vanderbilt 90-85 in overtime to advance to the second round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
And it was a tale of two halves for the Razorbacks, who allowed the Commodores to put together a 14-2 run to take a 41-27 lead at the break.
As it has all season, Arkansas's first 20 minutes were plagued by poor shooting and a lack of defense. Ven-Allen Lubin drilled a three-pointer, and Ezra Manjon scored the final six points of the half as Vanderbilt shot 54.8% from the field to open the contest.
Coming out of the locker room, history wasn't in the Hogs' favor. Entering Wednesday's game, Arkansas was just 2-56 all-time when scoring less than 30 points and allowing opponents to score more than 40 in the first half.
Battle and Mark made sure the Razorbacks wouldn't suffer another loss.
After going scoreless in the first half, Mark came out of the locker room and scored nine of Arkansas's first 17 points to steal momentum and spark an Arkansas comeback.
Starring down a 15-point deficit, the Razorbacks strung together quality possessions and shot 48.4% from the field in the second half, including 6 of 13 (46.2%) from three to claw back. Mark buried a three-pointer and converted a four-point play to give Arkansas a 62-60 lead with 7:57 remaining.
It was the first lead for the Hogs since the 8:39 mark of the first half.
Battle then made two back-to-back layups before the Razorbacks knocked down six consecutive free throws to take a 76-68 lead with 2:11 on the clock.
Makhi Mitchell finished with 18 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Trevon Brazile had 13 points, a game-high 12 rebounds, and four blocks. Davonte Davis added 12 points and three assists for the Hogs in 32 minutes of action.
Arkansas led by four points with 17 seconds left, but Manjon made a layup to make the score a one-possession game. Vanderbilt stole the ensuing inbounds, and Manjon knocked down a shot at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
The Razorbacks answered with a 10-1 run in the bonus period to put away the Commodores and secure their second overtime victory at the SEC Tournament in program history. The first came against Mississippi State in the 1999 semifinals.
Arkansas will face fifth-seeded South Carolina on Thursday. Coverage begins after the Mississippi State-LSU game at 2:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.