By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach John Pelphrey led the charge Saturday afternoon, celebrating his team’s first half play with an emphatic fist pump as he slipped off to the locker room.
It was an animated moment for Pelphrey, who watched his team close the first half on a 14-2 run. Sure, the spurt may have come against an LSU team that hadn’t won in a month, but it was a much-needed moment for a program trying to fend off another late-season collapse.
“I was just proud of the guys,” Pelphrey said afterward. “I thought they competed. It’s very easy to hang your head and feel sorry for yourselves and make excuses. I believe in what’s going on and I think they do. They showed it in the first half. So to play pretty well the whole first half and then to see them finish it that way, I was happy for them.”
Arkansas took advantage of the late push, then cruised in the second half to an 80-61 win against LSU in front of an announced crowd of 9,653 in Bud Walton Arena. The victory snapped Arkansas three-game skid, while also helping the Razorbacks reach the elusive 15-win mark for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
Guard Rotnei Clarke led the charge with 25 points. Forward Marshawn Powell added 14, while eight other Razorbacks (15-9, 5-6 in Southeastern Conference) scored in the lopsided victory. It was a collective effort that left Arkansas’ players smiling for a change.
“We just wanted to come out and just win,” Clarke said. “It wasn’t the matter of fact of us having our back against the wall. We knew we had to get a win. We just wanted to turn up the intensity and come out and play hard and play together and I think that’s what we did.”
Arkansas won thanks to a defensive effort that forced 17 turnovers (14 in the first half) and offensive success it hadn’t experience since the Vanderbilt win on Jan. 29. The Razorbacks shot an SEC-best 54.2 percent from the field in the first half and finished at 48 percent.
It was a stark contrast to the first meeting with LSU, when the Razorbacks scored 53 points (17 in the first half) and shot just 33.3 percent (18.5 in the first half) on Jan. 12.
Clarke enjoyed the biggest turnaround. After scoring five points on 1 of 7 shooting against LSU’s zone defense in the first meeting, the junior knocked down 7 of 10 shots and 5 of 6 behind the 3-point line against a man defense.
“At LSU they were in their zone and we had some shots, we just didn’t hit them. We had some open looks,” Clarke said. “Today we moved the ball well and got some good looks. It was just a matter of just knocking them down.”
His 3-pointer with 4:54 left in the first half gave Arkansas a 29-20 lead, igniting the 14-2 run. The Razorbacks forced turnovers, grabbed rebounds and knocked down shots throughout the spurt. Clarke ended the run with a layup with four seconds left, giving them a 40-22 lead.
“That was a really important minute and a half, two minutes to close out the half,” Pelphrey said. “I think it was an eight or nine point game and it went to 18.”
LSU (10-15, 2-8) went into a zone defense to open the second half in hopes of slowing the Razorbacks, but Clarke knocked down two more 3-pointers. Arkansas’ lead eventually ballooned to as much as 29 points before the Tigers outscored the Razorbacks’ reserves 10-2 late.
Matt Derenbecker led LSU, which shot 43.1 percent from the field, with 13 points.
“Arkansas was a lot better,” LSU coach Trent Johnson said. “A lot better, played a lot harder, wanted it a lot more than we did. …
“They were better than we were in all phases.”
Clarke said earlier this week the Razorbacks believed they were capable of making a late-season run even though the recent performances said otherwise. Point guard Jeff Peterson agreed Saturday, believing Arkansas’ play was proof the Hogs haven’t thrown in the towel.
“We definitely haven’t given up,” Peterson said. “We’ve still got like seven, eight games left in the regular season and postseason play.
“Nobody in that locker room has quit.”
The win may not erase the sting from the three-game skid, which practically knocked the Hogs out of contention in the SEC Western Division championship chase. But it temporarily eased the frustration that had built after poor performances (especially on offense) against Georgia, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
Certainly, tougher challenges lie ahead. The Razorbacks face Florida A&M on Wednesday night, then face back-to-back SEC games at Alabama (Feb. 19) and against Kentucky (Feb. 23).
But Pelphrey said there were plenty of reasons to enjoy the convincing win against LSU.
“To be able to come back out and battle and to set your own personal agendas aside and to fight for a common goal … basketball season gets long right about now,” Pelphrey said. You can miss on some opportunities. But I thought our team fought and I thought they got out there and battled. So good for them.
“They can enjoy (Saturday), but obviously this is only a piece. We’ve got more to do.”
