COLUMBUS, Mo. — Makhi Mitchell tied a career-high 19 points and had 14 rebounds, Tramon Mark added a team-high 22 points and Arkansas snapped a three-game losing streak with a 91-84 victory against Missouri at Mizzou Arena Wednesday night.
The Razorbacks, who entered the contest losers of six of their last seven games, looked like a completely different team against the Tigers.
Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman said after the 63-57 loss to No. 10 Kentucky last Saturday that the team "needs better point guard play."
He certainly got it against Missouri as the Hogs (11-10, 2-6 SEC) tallied 14 assists and shot 54.1% from the field and 4 of 6 (66.7%) behind the three-point line.
Although Arkansas shot better from the floor, it was still careless with the basketball, recording 15 turnovers, a stat that plagued the program throughout its three-game losing streak.
Defensively, the Razorbacks suffocated Missouri, forcing the Tigers into 18 turnovers and holding them to 45.8% shooting from the field and 10 of 20 (50%) from three.
Mitchell and the Hogs put pressure on the Tigers (8-13, 0-8 SEC) in the first half.
Attacking the paint and stretching the floor with the three-ball, Arkansas took a 41-26 lead with 2:18 to play after a three-pointer by Keyon Menifield Jr. and a dunk by Layden Blocker.
Menifield finished with 16 points on 4 of 11 (36.3%) shooting with two rebounds and three assists, while Jalen Graham had 13 points, one rebound and four assists.
Less than one minute later, Mitchell put in a layup to push the Razorbacks' lead to 15 points.
Arkansas was selective with its shots as the team found an advantage inside, finishing with 56 points in the paint.
The Razorbacks went into the locker room with a 47-23 lead and extended that advantage to 23 points three minutes into the second half.
Despite that lead, Missouri made a furious comeback with a flurry of three-pointers to cut Arkansas's lead to 90-84 with seven seconds remaining in the game.
Missouri held the lead for only 19 seconds at the beginning of the game as the team suffered an eighth consecutive loss.
Tamar Bates scored a game-high 29 points on 9 of 18 (50%) shooting and had three rebounds and three assists for the Tigers. Sean East II contributed 11 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
Arkansas wraps up its two-game road stretch against LSU on Saturday before returning home to battle Georgia on Feb. 10. Coverage from the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La., begins at 11:00 a.m. Central on ESPN2.