By Matt L. Stephens
Special to the Arkansas News Bureau
FAYETTEVILLE — BJ Young’s first start didn’t go as well as planned on Dec. 17.
Fresh off two games scoring at least 24 points in losses at Connecticut and Oklahoma, Young fizzled, recording six points no assists in 30 minutes of action.
He got another shot Tuesday and lived up to expectations, sparking Arkansas to a 83-66 victory against Savannah State at Bud Walton Arena.
From the game’s opening basket to a breakaway dunk with 2 minutes, 25 seconds remaining to put an end to the Tigers comeback run, Young made it apparent he was a good fit for coach Mike Anderson’s starting rotation.
He finished with 17 points and 3 rebounds.
“I thought BJ was more in attack mode. He was playing the right way on defense and I thought he played extremely well early on,” Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said. “I thought he was sloppy with the basketball and that’s something we have to work on, not only with BJ, but the whole team.”
The Razorbacks (11-3, 0-0 SEC) had a problem with turnovers, giving it away 23 times, most of which came from passes around the basket. As well as Young played, he did turn the ball over on five occasions. Fellow starters Mardracus Wade and Rickey Scott had three apiece.
The lack of ball control by Arkansas led to Savannah State (5-9, 1-1 MEAC) cutting a 22-point deficit with 10:02 remaining to six points seven minutes later.
However, clutch free-throw shooting by senior forward Marvell Waithe, who was only 69 percent from the line heading into the contest, helped the Razorbacks pull out a win in the final game before Southeastern Conference play.
“I think I can shoot the basketball and when I started the season, I missed a lot in a row, which hurt my percentage,” said Waithe, who was 10-of-11 from the free-throw line Tuesday. “I don’t really worry about percentages, I just kind of focus and shoot the basketball.”
He ended the game with 14 points and, more importantly to Anderson, three blocks to help set the Razorbacks defensive intensity.
Scott, who scored in double-figures for the fourth consecutive game with 17 points and tied for a game-high seven rebounds, said the way Arkansas fended off the Savannah State run was exactly what the team needed.
Looking forward to SEC play Saturday against No. 15 Mississippi State, the Razorbacks are bound to have a close game or two where they’ll need to respond after opponents make big scoring runs.
“We definitely want that to keep happening. If Marvell keeps playing that way, he can keep picking us up,” Scott said. “With him getting blocked shots and rebounds the way he does, he definitely picks me up and gets my intensity going.”
Despite what Anderson felt was a lack of focus in the second half, the Arkansas coach was happy his team was able to focus and not look past an opponent from a smaller conference, as the toughest part of the schedule tips off at 8 p.m. inside Bud Walton Arena.
“My biggest worry coming into this game was keeping (the players) focused on Savannah State. Now we draw our attention to Mississippi State as we get into the family — the SEC,” Anderson said. “The ball games get bigger now. Much bigger.”
SAVANNAH STATE (66)
Hassan 1-4 1-2 3, Blackmon 3-14 0-0 6, Rudolph 4-11 0-0 11, C. Smith 3-5 2-6 8, J. Smith 1-2 0-0 2, Spears 0-0 0-0 0, Wilson 2-7 2-2 7, Montgomery 1-4 1-2 4, Richards 0-2 2-3 2, Louis 6-10 1-5 13, Conner 2-4 0-0 5, Hendley 2-2 0-0 5. Totals 25-65 9-20 66
ARKANSAS (83)
Abron 3-6 2-2 8, Scott 6-9 5-6 17, Sanchez 1-2 2-6 5, Wade 2-3 4-4 10, Young 6-11 3-4 17, Madden 1-2 2-2 4, Haydar 0-0 0-0 0, Mickelson 3-7 1-2 7, Waithe 2-4 10-11 14, Nobles 0-4 2-2 2. Totals 24-48 31-39 83
Halftime — Arkansas 42-23. Three-point goals — Savannah State 7-22 (Montgomery 1-3, Blackmon 0-2, Rudolph 3-10, Wilson 1-4, Richards 0-1, Hendley 1-1, Conner 1-1). Arkansas 4-8 (Wade 2-3, Young 2-3, Nobles 0-2). Fouled out — Savannah State (Hassan). Rebounds — Savannah State 28 (C. Smith, Conner, Lewis 4). Arkansas — 46 (Scott, Waithe 7). Assists — Savannah State 15 (Blackmon 7). Arkansas 13 (Wade, Madden, Nobles 3). Total fouls — Savannah State 25. Arkansas 18. Attendance 6,200 estimated.
