FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM)--When Isaiah Joe took over the first half with 17 points, it appeared Arkansas would run away with its seventh straight win. That wasn't the case. Western Kentucky's second half surge sunk the Razorbacks 78-77.
After Marek Nelson hit the go-ahead layup with 19 seconds left, Arkansas had two chances to win the game. But a Daniel Gafford shot off a lob fell short at the buzzer.
The game, billed as a battle of potential lottery picks lived up to the billing as Gafford (17 points, 8 rebounds) and Charles Bassey (21 points, 9 rebounds) went head to head all afternoon.
Joe finished with 19 points on 5/9 shooting from three, while Mason Jones added 15 points and Jalen Harris put up 13 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds.
The Hilltoppers shot nearly 50% from the field and 40% from three, better than the Hogs in each category. Jared Savage contributed 20 points for Western Kentucky
Desi Sills, the freshman from Jonesboro added a nice spark of the bench in the second half. Sills finished with 9 points on 4/6 shooting.
Arkansas returns to action next Saturday December 15 against University of Texas at San Antonio at Verizon Arena in Little Rock, with tipoff at 7:00 p.m. The Razorbacks have just four more non-conference games prior to the start of SEC play.