By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas found the perfect way to get over last Saturday’s embarrassing loss at Florida.

The Razorbacks played the worst team in the Southeastern Conference Tuesday night.

Arkansas, which was reeling after the 32-point setback in Gainesville, Fla., ended its two-game skid with a 73-64 victory over Auburn in front of an announced crowd of 9,359 in Bud Walton Arena on Tuesday night.

The victory certainly didn’t help the Razorbacks (13-6, 3-3 in SEC) earn style points thanks to a late collapse that made things nerve-wracking, but it allowed them to even their SEC record and keep struggling Auburn (7-13, 0-6) winless.

Guard Rotnei Clarke, who was scoreless at Florida, bounced back to score 16 points along with guard Julysses Nobles. Forward Marshawn Powell added his second double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

“Any time you get a ‘W’ it feels good,” Powell said.

And Arkansas will take it even though it had to work hard in the closing minutes in a game it led by as much as 24 points in the second half.

The Razorbacks charged out to the big cushion thanks to a remarkably slow start by Auburn in the second half. The Tigers missed 23 straight shots and were outscored 21-1, allowing Arkansas to gain separation after a tight first half. Auburn didn’t make its first field goal until Tony Neysmith knocked down a short jumper with 8:37 remaining in the game.

But Auburn’s cold shooting had an affect on the Razorbacks. The Tigers eventually heated up, while Arkansas started to struggle down the stretch.

“That just made us relax a little bit,” Powell said. “And they ended up getting back into the game.”

Said Nobles: “You can’t relax. You see what happens.”

Arkansas went cold offensively, missing shots during an 13-0 Auburn spurt. The Razorbacks suffered their share of defensive lapses, too, giving up layups and second-chance points to helped the Tigers claw close.

In fact, Auburn — which was led by guard Earnest Ross’ 15 points — trimmed the deficit as low as six with 1:10 remaining. The Razorbacks — led by Nobles’ 10-for-10 performance from the line — made late free throws to wrap up the win despite the ugly ending.

“They were coming back,” said Nobles, who was 8-for-8 in the final 2:05. “I had to make them.”

Arkansas, which was 26 of 34 from the free-throw line, improved to 12-0 in Bud Walton Arena.

But it’s no surprise Arkansas coach John Pelphrey was thinking more about the near disaster afterward.

“Relaxed, didn’t play well, Auburn made some plays,” Pelphrey said. “Whatever the case may be, we didn’t play as well as we needed to those last seven or eight minutes. Fortunately for us we had a big lead and we were able to hang on.”

There were a couple of bright spots for Arkansas.

After struggling so much on the boards, the Razorbacks did outrebound the Tigers 39-36 (although the Hogs gave up an alarming 15 offensive rebounds in the second half). Arkansas also shot 47.8 percent after a season-low 29.4 percent at Florida.

Arkansas helped Clarke get back on track, too. The team’s leading scorer has struggled with defenses blanketing him in SEC play, averaging 7.6 points on 11 of 35 shooting. It included 8-for-25 on 3-pointers.

Clarke missed his first two shots to start Tuesday’s game, but got on the board with a jumper that gave the Hogs an early 8-7 lead. He finished with 10 points in a first half, which helped Arkansas hold a 34-30 edge.

“He did a good job of tight curling off some screens,” Pelphrey said. “I thought he was very, very focused on doing a good job of moving without the ball. I thought we did a good job of getting him the ball. Then we obviously were able to get some things in transition. … I thought he did a good job.”

Pelphrey said he’ll be bothered by the late collapse, but Arkansas enjoyed the win after last week’s struggles on the road at South Carolina and Florida.

There’s little time to celebrate. The Razorbacks now return to the road where they’re 0-4 this year.

Arkansas plays at Vanderbilt on Saturday.

“We enjoy playing at home,” Powell said. “But we have to win on the road to be considered a good team.”

Free Throws
Guard Rickey Scott left the game in the first half with what appeared to be a knee injury. Scott, who was writhing on the floor in pain and had to be helped to the locker room, returned to help the Razorbacks in the second half. … Guard Jemal Farmer played for the first time since Jan. 12. The senior — who was not with the team for two games while “trying to figure some things out,” according to Pelphrey — was scoreless in eight minutes. … Guard Marcus Britt replaced Jeff Peterson in the starting lineup.