Arkansas beats No. 7 Texas 67-61

[January 07, 2009]  FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- Michael Washington scored 22 points, including a driving dunk with 22.5 seconds remaining, to help Arkansas upset another top 10 team with a 67-61 victory over No. 7 Texas on Tuesday night.

A week after knocking off then-No. 4 Oklahoma, the Razorbacks led Texas 62-61 and had the ball in the final minute. Their play appeared to break down, but the 6-foot-9 Washington was able to beat his man off the dribble and suddenly had a clear path to the basket. He was fouled as he dunked and made the free throw to put Arkansas (12-1) ahead by four.

A.J. Abrams then missed three straight shots at the other end, and Stefan Welsh added a breakaway layup to finish the scoring.

Welsh scored 20 points for the Razorbacks. Damion James led Texas (11-3) with 17.

The Longhorns went 1-of-14 from 3-point range.

Texas played without 6-foot-10 senior Connor Atchley, who split his tongue in Friday night's win over Appalachian State.

Arkansas has won 10 in a row for the first time since 1995, the year after the Hogs won the national championship.

Texas was making its first visit to Fayetteville since 1991, when the Longhorns and Arkansas played in the Southwest Conference. The old rivalry is still alive, though.

Last year, Texas was sent to North Little Rock for the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. Longhorns coach Rick Barnes joked that he'd cancel this year's trip to Fayetteville if the fans weren't nice to his team, but the Arkansas folks booed Texas anyway during its two games.

Tuesday night's crowd included former Arkansas coach Eddie Sutton, and the fans were into it from the start. The action was intense in the first half, although neither team shot well.

Texas led 31-27 after a first half in which the teams combined to shoot 1-of-20 from 3-point range. After the players left the court, a young woman wearing jeans and a T-shirt came out and made about five 3-pointers in a 20-second span as part of a halftime competition.

Abrams went scoreless in the first half, and Washington was limited to nine minutes because of foul trouble.

The Longhorns led 52-46 in the second half before Washington's desperation 3-pointer with the shot clock running down hit the rim, bounced high in the air and then dropped in. That shot started an 11-0 run for the Razorbacks, and they took the lead when Marcus Monk's nice pass inside set up Washington's dunk. Courtney Fortson's driving three-point play made it 57-52.

Texas fought back to tie it at 57, but Welsh's 3-pointer from in front of the Arkansas bench put the Razorbacks back ahead.

[Associated Press; By NOAH TRISTER]

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