By Matt Jones
Special to the Arkansas News Bureau
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas couldn’t find a way to turn the tables Friday night.
Just three days removed from blowing a double-digit lead in a loss to Morgan State, the Razorbacks found a 19-point lead too much to overcome in a 94-85 loss to East Tennessee State at Bud Walton Arena.
“We’ve been prepared to play,” Arkansas guard Rotnei Clarke said. “We fought and they played good, and that’s a tribute to them. These aren’t rinky-dink teams; these are good basketball teams that are well-coached and have a good chance of making a push in the NCAA Tournament and winning their conferences.”
East Tennessee State used a pair of first-half runs to build a 48-32 halftime lead.
The first scoring run was an 18-1 count that put the Buccaneers up 32-23 with 7:23 remaining before intermission and the second a 9-1 stretch into the locker rooms.
To make matters worse the Razorbacks had spans of 4:57 and 4:05 without making a basket in the first 20 minutes.
“They hit us with about four straight threes and it stunned us. We never could recover,” Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said. “They played very, very well in the first half.”
The Buccaneers’ lead eventually grew to 19 points early in the second half before the Razorbacks began to cut into it.
Sparked by Clarke’s 21 second-half points — all on 3-point baskets — the Hogs repeatedly pulled within single-digits. Each time, however, the Buccaneers found ways to counter.
Arkansas (2-3) couldn’t get any closer than 71-65 with 8:12 remaining in the second half on a Clarke 3-pointer.
The sophomore finished the night with 32 points, including 10 makes from beyond the arc on 16 attempts.
Arkansas got as close as it did thanks to a 10-2 run midway through the second half. It started when Mike Washington hit 1 of 2 free throws on an intentional foul and included five points from Stefan Welsh.
“We had a lot of energy and had the momentum,” said Jemal Farmer, who finished the night with 13 points before fouling out. “I thought we had a chance to win the game at that point.”
As was the case throughout the night, though, East Tennessee State had an answer to Arkansas’ run. Justin Tubbs’ trey as the shot clock expired with 7:01 left put the Buccaneers back up by nine. Tubbs finished with 21 points while Tommy Hubbard (32) and Micah Williams (18) each recorded career highs for the Bucs.
For the night, East Tennessee State (3-3) hit 11 of 14 attempts from 3-point range and went 19 of 25 from the free throw line. The Bucs also out-rebounded Arkansas 36-23, marking the fourth consecutive game the Razorbacks were on the short end of that category.
“We’ve got to find a way to solve the shooting percentages,” Pelphrey said. “Eleven out of 14 is something from the 3-point line. There were other guys on the floor trying to stop them, so it wasn’t like they were out there on the floor by themselves.
“We’ve got to make them miss, get some rebounds and find a way to win the game.”
Mitchell Returns To Football
Razorback freshman Brandon Mitchell has decided to leave the basketball team, the University of Arkansas announced prior to the game.
Mitchell, a redshirt freshman on Arkansas’ football team, cited focusing on one sport as the reason for the decision.
“We are grateful to Brandon for the time he spent with the basketball team,” Pelphrey said in a release. “He is a fantastic young man who did everything we asked of him while with us. We wish him the best in his football career.”
Mitchell scored five points in four games this season while averaging just more than eight minutes per contest.
