By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas guard Rotnei Clarke said he couldn’t get down. He couldn’t get frustrated.
It didn’t matter that the Razorbacks’ leading scorer had struggled to get open, had problems hitting shots and hadn’t done much offensively throughout the first 38 minutes of Tuesday’s game. Clarke said he stayed calm and it paid off when Arkansas needed him most.
Clarke scored Arkansas’ final 12 points — including seven in overtime — to lead the Razorbacks to a 66-62 win against Missouri State on Tuesday night.
The sophomore’s biggest bucket came with 18 seconds left in overtime when he curled around a screen to knock down a 3-pointer to give Arkansas (7-5) the lead. He followed it by grabbing a defensive rebound and knocking down a pair of free throws with one second left to seal the win for the Razorbacks.
It resulted in Arkansas’ fifth straight victory and was clearly its most impressive this season. Missouri State (10-1) had won 10 straight to open the season, but watched the streak end in front of a season-high, announced crowd of 10,853 in Bud Walton Arena.
“That was my main focus not to get frustrated,” Clarke said. “Of course I was a little bit, but I tried to keep my mind positive and have faith I was going to be able to. If I was going to keep shooting I could hit those shots in the end.”
Clarke had been 2-for-8 from the field with seven points until his final spurt. Oddly, the sophomore was able to get on track thanks to a bad play.
He committed a turnover trying to get the ball into the post in the final minutes, but reacted quickly to intercept a pass heading the other way. The recovery gave Clarke an open 3-pointer, which he knocked down to give the Razorbacks a 57-54 lead.
“It was a terrible pass,” Clarke said. “I was being impatient. I was very frustrated so I thought I was going to try to make a play. I knocked the ball loose from him. If I would’ve missed that three I would’ve been even more frustrated. But it went down.”
He broke another tie a few seconds later with a 12-foot shot with five seconds left. But that wasn’t enough thanks to a defensive breakdown, which allowed the Bears to tie the game with a layup at the buzzer.
Clarke proved to be too much for Missouri State in overtime, though. With Arkansas trailing 62-61, the Hogs drew up a play for the guard during a timeout.
Glenn Bryant and Marshawn Powell set screens to free up Clarke, who caught a pass from Stefan Welsh and knocked down the jumper that proved to be the winner.
“Big shots. Big shots,” Missouri State coach Cuonzo Martin said. “He’s a guy that takes them and he makes them.”
But Clarke’s offensive spurt wasn’t the only thing that won the game. It was much more than that.
The Razorbacks dug in their heels and recorded their most impressive defensive effort of the season.
Sure, there were still plenty of flaws that caused problems: Arkansas surrendered 23 offensive rebounds and gave up 13 second-chance points in the first half. And they allowed Missouri State to knock down several open 3-pointers, too. But Missouri State — which entered the game shooting 46 percent — finished at 31.9 percent.
And it left Arkansas coach John Pelphrey impressed with the way the Hogs matched the Bears’ effort and intensity.
“I thought our guys matched it toe-to-toe, step-for-step,” Pelphrey said. “We really, really competed in this basketball game. … When you compete and show some heart, you’ve got a chance.”
Bryant provided the biggest lift on the defensive end of the floor for the Razorbacks. He was key in helping Arkansas stop a seven-minute stretch in the first half in which they were outscored 14-0, which put them in a 14-0 hole.
Bryant got a steal, layup and completed a three-point play to halt the run. He grabbed rebounds on the defensive end, blocked shots and finished with 5 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal.
“I was going out there to do my job,” Bryant said. “Coach told me to bring high energy, play good defense, that’s what I do. … I rely on rebounding, blocking shots and our team feeds off of that.”
Said Clarke: “I think he won the game for us.”
Clarke’s right. Bryant played a vital role. But it was Clarke’s play down the stretch that proved vital.
The guard was back in the starting lineup Tuesday after missing the Alabama State game and coming off the bench against Stephen F. Austin because of knee tendinitis. He played 38 minutes against Missouri State and admitted his knee was a little sore.
But it might’ve been worth it for Clarke and the Razorbacks, who now enter the Christmas break after picking up their first quality win of the season.
“There were moments in that basketball game from an emotional standpoint you could’ve just said, ‘OK, go ahead and knock me out,’” Pelphrey said. “Those guys stayed on their feet and they kept swinging.”
