Hogs turn it on, outclass Gents

BOB HOLT
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE -- Centenary couldn't beat Arkansas in Walton Arena on Tuesday, but at least the Gents didn't beat Louisiana-Monroe.
That is, the Gents didn't beat Louisiana-Monroe when it came to turning the ball over against the Razorbacks.
The 25th-ranked Razorbacks forced Centenary into 32 turnovers en route to beating the Gents 88-57 before 14,017 fans.
That's four fewer than Louisiana-Monroe's 36 in a 99-59 loss to Arkansas (4-1) on Saturday.
The Gents (2-2) matched Louisiana-Monroe's 20 first-half turnovers and then did the Indians one better by turning it over to start the second half when they couldn't inbound the ball and were whistled for five seconds.
"It gets worse when their coach is sitting over there telling them to pressure hard," Centenary junior point guard Warren Harris said in reference to Razorbacks Coach Nolan Richardson. "You already think they're coming at you with the hardest thing they've got."
Centenary came into the game averaging 12.3 turnovers in victories over East Texas Baptist and Southwest Texas and a loss at Tennessee State, but the Gents were clearly overmatched against the Razorbacks' pressure defense.
"I don't think they've played teams that play 94 feet the entire game like we do," Arkansas junior guard Brandon Dean said. "We're getting all over the floor, diving for loose balls and doing everything possible to try and get a deflection or a steal."
The Razorbacks had 16 steals against Centenary after setting a school record with 26 against Louisiana-Monroe.
"It seemed like they were all over the place," said Harris, who had seven turnovers.
Arkansas junior guard T.J. Cleveland smiled at the mention of the Razorbacks' last two opponents combining for 68 turnovers.
"We really don't keep up with the numbers, but that sounds pretty good to me," Cleveland said. "We've been practicing this kind of defense every day, so it's becoming a habit and I think we're becoming pretty good at it.
"Our offense wasn't very good tonight, but I think our defense made up for it. If we continue to play defense like this, we should be pretty good."
Sophomore guard Joe Johnson, who led Arkansas with 19 points, said it was a solid effort by the Razorbacks, but sounded a cautionary tone.
"We played pretty good, but when we come up against some great guards, we're going to have to adjust," Johnson said. "Don't get me wrong, [Centenary's guards] aren't bad, but we'll come up against a lot better ones and if we don't do a better job, we could be in trouble."
It was clear Centenary was in trouble when the Razorbacks went on a 13-0 run, with Dean scoring eight of his 15 points, to turn a 6-5 deficit into an 18-6 lead midway through the first half.
The game wasn't in doubt after that, even though Arkansas shot just 42.6 percent from the field (29 of 68) while hitting 15 of 36 three-pointers.
"Our defense was the difference in the game," Richardson said. "We missed some wide-open shots, but the tempo of our defense created some things for us."
Junior guard Jannero Pargo added 14 points for the Razorbacks, and sophomore guard Blake Eddins had 10.
Centenary senior guard Ronnie McCollum, who came into the game averaging 28.7 points, scored 19. He was 6 of 16 from the field, including two air balls.
After hitting Centenary's first basket, McCollum didn't score again until Arkansas had built a 30-14 lead.
Several Razorbacks took turns guarding McCollum when the team played man-to-man defense -- mostly Cleveland and Pargo -- and he also struggled to find shots when Arkansas played a zone.
"If he gets his looks, he can get you 30 points," Richardson said. "But I don't think he's ever been doubled-teamed and switched to and kept from catching it like he was tonight."
McCollum would have had to score 50 points against the Razorbacks to make up the final margin.
"I thought they were all over the place, the whole court," Centenary Coach Kevin Johnson said. "They have the athleticism and the depth to do that.
"We knew coming into the game it would be tough for us to overcome."
Johnson said playing Arkansas was a good learning experience for the Gents.
"That's one of the big reasons we enjoy playing these games," he said. "That's a Top 25 team out there on the court.
"I'm not naive enough to believe our program is on the same level as the Arkansas Razorbacks."
But at least Centenary didn't match Louisiana-Monroe's level against the Razorbacks.

This article was published on Wednesday, November 29, 2000

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