Men’s basketball dropped their second game in three tries with a loss to Arkansas Tuesday. | Justin Cross/The Cougar

A late surge from the University of Arkansas men’s basketball team earned them an 84-72 win over the Cougars in Fayetteville, Arkansas Tuesday night.

“Two good teams,” said head coach Kelvin Sampson. “I would have liked to have played a little better defensively. When we went small, it hurt us a little bit on the boards down the stretch.”

The Cougars have now lost two of their last three games and have dropped consecutive games to Southeastern Conference opponents.

Both teams, which are known for their offenses, traded blows throughout the contest. The Cougars went into halftime with a 35-34 lead over the Razorbacks after trailing by 14 in the first half.

Junior guard Daryl Macon and senior guard Dusty Hannahs each contributed 17-point performances that helped the Razorbacks outscore the Cougars 50-37 in the second half.

Cougar junior guard Rob Gray continued his hot start to the season after dropping in another 20-point performance. Gray continues to lead the team in points per game with a mark of 19.8.

Senior guard Damyean Dotson led the team with 10 rebounds and contributed 15 points of his own. Dotson leads the team in three-point shooting and tallied three triples Tuesday.

In addition to losing the game, transfer forward Devin Davis exited the game in the first half after suffering a cut to his fingers that required multiple stitches. Davis did not return to action in the second half.

“We have to get Davis back,” Sampson said. “He’s our best big, and I think he had six or seven stitches in his hand. He went up early in the game and ripped his fingers. Not having him — maybe some games it’s different, but we needed his bulk in there tonight.”

The Cougars will return home to take on the University of Rhode Island Rams Saturday inside Hofheinz Pavilion. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.

sports@thedailycougar.com

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“Basketball drops second consecutive road matchup” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar