Finding the finishing touch

BOB HOLT
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas stopped the bleeding Wednesday night in Walton Arena, showing it could protect a lead and win an SEC game.
The Razorbacks beat Auburn 82-72 before 17,917 fans to end a three-game SEC losing streak and show signs of life in what previously had been a joyless season.
"I think that was the Arkansas team we all know," Auburn Coach Cliff Ellis said, referring to the Razorbacks team which beat the Tigers to win last year's SEC Tournament championship. "I think that's the Arkansas you're going to see the rest of the way."
Arkansas (10-6, 1-3), off to its worst start in SEC play since joining the conference 10 years ago, had to beat Auburn (11-6, 1-3) to begin trying to turn around a season in which the Razorbacks were ranked No. 15 in national polls and picked to win the Western Division title.
"When you drop to 0-3, a lot of confidence leaves, especially with the expectations we have," said Arkansas junior guard Brandon Dean, who had 9 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists Wednesday night. "Now we're going to try and build on this win.
"This feels good. The main thing is, it gives us some confidence going into the Alabama game [on Saturday] and some good momentum."
In four of the Razorbacks' losses, they had led in the second half but failed to hang on. Against Auburn, they built a 70-61 lead with 4:37 left and managed to stay in control.
"I think down the stretch we were patient," said Arkansas junior guard Jannero Pargo, who had 14 points while playing a team-high 33 minutes, including the entire second half. "We played against the clock, and not against our opponent.
"And when we got fouled, we made our free throws."
The Razorbacks hit 12 of 16 free throws in the final 6:26 and finished a season-high 25 of 37 from the line. The Tigers were 11 of 15.
"For the first time, we got a chance to shoot more free throws than our opponent, and we got quite a few more," Arkansas Coach Nolan Richardson said. "That's big."
Richardson said before the game the Razorbacks -- who shot 33.4 percent from the field in losing their first three SEC games -- had to shoot better, and the players responded.
Arkansas shot 52.1 percent from the field (25 of 48) as sophomore forward Alonzo Lane hit 6 of 7 shots inside and led the Razorbacks with 15 points.
"Shooting the ball in the hole cures a lot of problems," Richardson said. "It makes everything better."
Junior guard T.J. Cleveland had 13 points for the Razorbacks and sophomore guard Joe Johnson, who was back in the lineup after sitting out last Saturday's 81-64 loss at Vanderbilt because of a sprained left wrist, had 11 points and a team-high 8 rebounds.
Also back for the Razorbacks was sophomore forward Carl Baker, who had 9 points in 20 minutes off the bench after missing the previous four games because of a back sprain.
"I thought the guy who made the biggest difference for us was Baker," Richardson said. "He can hit a shot, he can rebound, he can guard people, and he fixes things when he's on the floor, and we needed that.
"Even though his back is still bothering him, he played his heart out. I had no idea he could play 20 minutes, but every time I asked him how his back was and if he wanted to come out, he said he was OK. It was a big plus for us to have him back."
Arkansas sophomore guard Blake Eddins also has been bothered by a back injury and he played just 8 minutes against Auburn, but he did a lot in that short period when he came off the bench in the second half.
After sophomore forward Marquis Daniels, who led Auburn with 20 points, scored on a rebound basket to give the Tigers a 57-55 lead with 12:54 left, Eddins helped lead a 15-4 run by that put the Razorbacks ahead 70-61.
Eddins hit a three-point basket and 2 of 2 free throws and had two rebounds.
"Blake, with his bad back and all, came in and gave us some energy," Richardson said.
After Arkansas went ahead by nine points with less than five minutes left, the Tigers didn't draw closer than seven the rest of the game.
"We didn't push the panic," Richardson said. "We kept playing."
The Razorbacks had 18 assists, their high for an SEC game.
"I thought we played together," Lane said. "We were sharing the ball."
After winning their first SEC game, there was an obvious sense of relief in the Razorbacks' locker room.
"It didn't matter who we played, we just wanted to win," Cleveland said. "We worked all week on not panicking.
"It feels wonderful to get a win. I'm ready to get another."
Auburn, which also got 17 points from sophomore guard Adam Harrington and 16 from junior guard Lincoln Glass, lost at Walton Arena for the eighth consecutive season since 1993, the final season the Razorbacks played at Barnhill Arena.
Arkansas scored as many points in the first half against Auburn as it did in the entire game against Ole Miss last Wednesday.
The Razorbacks led Auburn 48-40 at halftime; they lost to Ole Miss 53-48.
Arkansas jumped to an 11-4 lead against the Tigers as Pargo hit a three-point basket and a 15-foot jumper and Johnson and sophomore forward Larry Satchell had three-point plays.
The Tigers then outscored the Razorbacks 10-0 over a 2:07 span and moved ahead 14-11 as Glass hit back-to-back three-pointers and Daniels scored on a rebound.
Arkansas regained the lead, 17-14, after Dean hit a 6-foot baseline jumper, Lane scored on a spin move inside and Cleveland scored on a drive.
Harrington's three-pointer tied it 20-20 with 10:36 left in the half.
A dunk and a driving basket by Lane and another drive by Cleveland put Arkansas ahead 26-22.
The Tigers went ahead 27-26 on a three-pointer by Glass.
Arkansas then outscored Auburn 16-6 over a 3:48 span, including two three-pointers by Cleveland and one each by Johnson and Dean, taking a 42-33 lead with 4:26 left in the half.
Auburn pulled within 42-39 as Daniels scored six consecutive points for the Tigers on two free throws and two driving baskets, but Pargo's three-pointer pushed Arkansas' lead to 48-40.
Harrington then scored the half's final points on a rebound basket with 32 seconds left to make it 48-42.

This article was published on Thursday, January 18, 2001

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