Mark Mitchell’s 26 points not enough for a Mizzou upset in Fayetteville

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KMIZ)

Despite giving No. 20 Arkansas some trouble on its home court in the first half, the Mizzou men's basketball team fell short of an upset in rivalry territory, on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers fell to the Razorbacks, 94-86, to drop to 18-9 on the year and 8-6 in SEC play.

The two rivals went bucket-for-bucket in the first half, with Mizzou eventually taking an eight-point lead at Bud Walton Arena, thanks to an 18-point effort from forward Mark Mitchell in the first 20 minutes. However, the Razorbacks ended that first half with all the momentum, going on a 19-6 run to take a 47-41 lead into halftime.

After that, the second half belonged the Arkansas. The Tigers never led in the final 20 minutes of action, but did sit within striking distance about midway through the closing half.

With head coach Dennis Gates and his group down by seven with about five minutes to play, the Razorbacks took control. Head coach John Calipari's unit went on an 11-6 scoring run over the next few minutes to put the Tigers in a 21-point hole that they could never climb out of.

Mitchell led the scoring charge for MU with a game-best 26 points. He was joined in the double-digit scoring club by forward Trent Pierce (22), center Shawn Phillips Jr. (11) and guard Jayden Stone (10). Overall, the Tigers shot 55 percent from the field, but shot at just a 33 percent clip from 3-point range.

Up next - Mizzou will return home to host Tennessee on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Tip off is set for 8 p.m.