By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ leading scorer was back on the court during the 72-69 win against Stephen F. Austin in Bud Walton Arena on Saturday.
After missing the Alabama State win with knee tendonitis, guard Rotnei Clarke came off the bench to score nine points. Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said the decision to play Clarke was made during the team’s pregame shootaround.
“I talked to him before and he was not really sure if he should go warm up because he didn’t want to get loose and have it tighten up,” Pelphrey said. “I said, ‘Well, we’ll see what happens. I’ll put you in the game and you can go from there.’
“He got out there and said he felt fine.”
Clarke made 3 of 6 shots and was 2-for-3 from behind the 3-point line in 27 minutes.
His biggest contribution came early in the second half, when Clarke made a 3-pointer. He followed it on the next possession by taking the ball to the bucket to score again, tying the game at 33-33.
“The shot to start the second half was big,” Pelphrey said.
Pelphrey said Clarke has only practiced once in the past two weeks because of the injury. He wore a protective sleeve over the knee against Stephen F. Austin and Pelphrey wasn’t sure if Clarke would be ready to practice this week.
But Pelphrey remains optimistic Clarke will be ready to play once again against Missouri State.
“We’ve got a lot of experience holding guys out (of practice),” he said. “We’ll come up with something.”
The Fortson Question
Pelphrey was asked the obligatory question regarding the status of point guard Courtney Fortson after Saturday’s win. But unlike the past several times the question has been asked, Pelphrey did not rule out Fortson’s return against Missouri State.
“I would say that the plan’s in place,” Pelphrey said. “It’s going well. We’ll see what happens.”
Fortson missed his 11th straight game Saturday, continuing to serve an indefinite suspension. He has been practicing with the team for much of the past month after spending some time away from the court to deal with personal issues to open the year.
Stephen F. Austin coach Danny Kaspar offered his support of Arkansas’ decision to discipline players even though it has hurt the Hogs on the court.
“A lot of coaches would not suspend a player in terms of wins and losses,” Kaspar said. “Whether it be Arkansas’ administration or John, I respect what they’re doing and I wish them the best.”
Key Injury
Stephen F. Austin’s upset hopes were damaged after losing Walt Harris early in the second half.
The guard had scored 22 points in 23 minutes before leaving with a strained muscle in his back with 15:13 remaining. The Lumberjacks were leading 40-39 at the time. It was their final lead of the game.
“I was worried how we were going to respond without him in the game,” Kaspar said. “Obviously they stretched their lead out.”
Pelphrey probably wasn’t feeling sorry for the Lumberjacks after dealing with a rash of injuries and suspensions this year. But he said Harris’ departure had an obvious affect on the game.
“He had 22 in 23 minutes,” Pelphrey said. “That’s self-explanatory. He had a very good game going.”
