By Harry King
FAYETTEVILLE—Just in time, Arkansas’ perseverance paid off with something more tangible than an attaboy and promises of future dividends.
The payoff was a ‘W’ in Southeastern Conference play, bankable and much-needed after hanging in against No. 1 Texas and rallying from 19 down to lose by two at Mississippi State on Thursday night.
Considering Arkansas’ next four games and the early-season assessment of the Western Division of the SEC, the value of the 71-59 decision cannot be understated.
On the upcoming Thursdays-Saturdays, Arkansas has home games against Florida and Mississippi State and road games vs. Kentucky and Ole Miss. The two Mississippi schools are supposed to be the cream of the Western Division and Kentucky is the best in the league.
Arkansas coach John Pelphrey refused to attach too much importance to the victory, saying it will mean little unless the Razorbacks beat Florida.
On the surface, the victory is in a neat capsule starting with at least five field goals each by Rotnei Clarke, Marshawn Powell, Michael Washington and Courtney Fortson. Now, mix in double-digit rebounds by Powell and Washington and 10 assists by Fortson. Washington also made all seven of his free-throw attempts and was willing to be on the receiving end of four offensive fouls.
For the sake of comparison, three of Alabama’s starters were a combined 4-of-19 from the field and the Crimson Tide had only one player with more than four rebounds.
There is more, little things by Maurice Britt and Delvon Johnson, in particular.
For instance, at 45-44, Washington and Britt traded roles — Washington shot from outside the much shorter Britt rebounded. Powell ended the possession with a driving layup.
Arkansas was in front by four when Fortson tried to beat the shot clock with one of his gung-ho drives down the lane. Most of the time, such a move means a shot is going up and the Razorbacks’ inside players start angling for position to rebound. Johnson kept paying attention and converted Fortson’s pass into 58-52.
And, it was Britt who delivered the pass to Washington on his way to the basket for a dunk and 62-52. Clarke finished the Crimson Tide with his fourth three.
For some reason, Alabama never seemed to recover from the loss of Senario Hillman with 12:41 to play. Hillman, who made only 1-of-7 from the field, was whistled for a forearm to the head of Clarke. The officials congregated to watch a TV replay and then tossed Hillman for a flagrant foul.
Accompanied by a couple of security people and lots of boos, Hillman exited with Arkansas in front 47-46. He passed near the Razorback bench, but Pelphrey made certain his players were seated at the time.
Clarke made one of two free throws and Fortson’s cross-court pass to Britt resulted in a 3 from the corner. Alabama lost track of Clarke who made a 3 for 56-50.
Even if Bobby Petrino’s 11:45 a.m. news conference had run over, catching up on the first half would have been easy. In essence, Alabama shot a little better than Arkansas, but the Razorbacks made six more free throws. A 3-pointer by Charvez Davis gave Alabama a 34-32 halftime lead.
In addition to the stats of Arkansas’ starters, there was another encouraging number — a season-high attendance of 13,832.
Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau. E-mail: hking@arkansasnews.com.
