The Tennessee men's basketball team tried everything against Arkansas junior Mason Jones on Wednesday night in Fayetteville.
Multiple defenders were run at the 6-foot-5 Razorback who leads the Southeastern Conference in scoring, but he had 37 points on 11-of-19 shooting to lead the hosts to an 86-69 win over the Volunteers at Bud Walton Arena.
It might be seen as a form of double revenge after Jones was held to nine points in the Razorbacks' 82-61 loss to the Vols on Feb. 11 in Knoxville.
Isaiah Joe, who didn't play in the first meeting due to injury, added 22 points for Arkansas and Desi Sills chipped in 13.
Tennessee (15-13, 7-8) was led by Jordan Bowden's 19 points. The senior was 7-for-16 from the field and knocked down four 3-pointers before fouling out in the second half.
The Vols trailed 40-27 at the break before going on an 16-5 run to trim the deficit to two early in the second half. The Razorbacks (18-10, 6-9) stretched their lead back to double figures on a 3 by Joe with 12:17 to play and built the lead to 19 during the second half.
AP file photo by Scott Keller / Tennessee senior Jordan Bowden, left, scored 19 points before fouling out of Wednesday's 86-69 loss at Arkansas.John Fulkerson had 15 points for Tennessee, and Yves Pons had 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds. However, Santiago Vescovi had just six points and Josiah-Jordan James was held scoreless, with Vescovi hounded by Arkansas's Jimmy Whitt Jr. throughout the game.
The Vols return to competition when they host Florida (18-10, 10-5) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
"We've been up against a wall all year, man," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said on the Vol Network after the game. "The bottom line is, we've got to break through with this group, some way, somehow.
"But we have to have a better overall effort on the defensive end than we did tonight."
WEDNESDAY'S STAR
Jones was ridiculous on the offensive end of the court all game long, but especially in the second half, when he had 22 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the field.
STANDOUT STAT
Joe and Jones combined to make 24 of 27 free throws. The Vols were 17-for-27. Tennessee's inability to guard the Razorbacks was the difference.
TURNING POINT
Just when the Vols thought they were back in the game, Arkansas responded with a back-breaking 9-0 run to stretch its lead to double digits, then with Tennessee hanging around by trailing 60-51 with 9:33 to play, the Razorbacks outscored the Vols 18-8 in a matter of about six minutes of game clock.
WHAT IT MEANS
It's not the worst loss in the world. The return of Joe, coupled with the margin of victory in the first game, meant the Razorbacks were going to be amped up for the game. Tennessee still was able to respond, but Arkansas's shotmaking ability was too much for the Vols, who will need to regroup for a big game Saturday.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.