Hogs pick up points, vigor from Johnson

ROB KEYS
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE -- When Arkansas and Auburn played earlier this season, the Tigers didn't get a chance to see Joe Johnson. After the Razorbacks' 64-55 victory on Sunday, the Tigers probably don't care if they ever see the freshman guard from North Little Rock again.
Johnson, who missed the teams' meeting on Feb. 5 to attend his grandmother's funeral, scored a game-high 22 points and almost single-handedly kept Arkansas close in the first half of Sunday's game.
Of Johnson's 16 first-half points, 12 got Arkansas within one point of the lead, tied the game or gave the Razorbacks the advantage.
"Joe Johnson put on a tremendous performance, especially in the first half," Auburn Coach Cliff Ellis said. "I thought we were playing our hearts out, and he was kind of keeping [Arkansas] in it."
None of Johnson's baskets was more dramatic than his 40-foot buzzer-beating bank shot that gave Arkansas a 34-32 halftime lead and stoked a somewhat subdued Walton Arena crowd of 19,842.
"That gave us a lot of lift because then we came in the locker room saying, 'This is our game,' " freshman Alonzo Lane said.
Johnson only smiled when asked if he called "glass."
"When I threw it up, I prayed a little bit, and every little prayer helps," said Johnson, who also grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds.
Lane said Johnson has "definitely brought a punch" to Arkansas' lineup since gaining his eligibility in December.
"He's a person that can create his own shot off the dribble, a person that can take over a game," Lane said. "We were lacking that earlier.
"He's just getting more and more comfortable in what he can do within our offense."
Johnson also has increased the confidence of a youthful Arkansas team. Johnson's self-assurance was evident in the closing minutes of Sunday's game, when he called for the ball as Auburn attempted to rally by sending the Razorbacks to the free-throw line.
But the Tigers opted not to foul Johnson, an 80 percent free-throw shooter, until they had no choice. With Arkansas holding a 57-51 lead and 1:07 left, Johnson made two free throws, and Auburn didn't get closer than six points in the closing seconds.
"I was saying to myself there was no way in the world I was going to let us lose the game," Johnson said. "So when I got back in the game, I just tried to keep things steady."
Johnson, the Razorbacks' leading scorer and rebounder, has been steady since joining Arkansas 11 games into the season.
In 17 games he has led the Razorbacks in scoring 10 times and in rebounding eight. Johnson also has shot better than 50 percent from the field nine times and has moved into the team's top five in assists and steals.

This article was published on Monday, March 6, 2000

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