Homeward Hogs
Arkansas rolls to 75-55 victory over South Carolina.
ARKANSAS 75, SOUTH CAROLINA 55
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas finally had a game again that didn’t go down to the last second.
The Razorbacks beat South Carolina 75-55 on Tuesday night in Walton Arena before an announced crowd of 10,019 after Arkansas’ previous four games were decided in the final seconds.
Arkansas hadn’t won a game by more than five points since beating Vanderbilt 82-70 on Jan. 10 in the Razorbacks’ second SEC game.
The previous four games Arkansas had beaten Alabama 93-91 in overtime, won 61-60 at Missouri, beaten Tennessee 69-64 and lost at Florida 57-56.
“It was good to have a 20-point win, to finally cruise it in and not be in panic mode,” Razorbacks freshman guard Anton Beard said.
Arkansas sophomore forward Bobby Portis got to enjoy
Arkansas forward Bobby Portis
the fans’ applause when Coach Mike Anderson took him out of the game with 2:26 left and put in freshman Trey Thompson.
“I asked to come out because I wanted Trey to come in and get some experience,” Portis said. “It was nice for sure to sit back and laugh a little bit instead of being on my toes so much.”
Portis led Arkansas (17-5, 6-3 SEC) with 18 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks shots, 2 assists and 2 steals in 26 minutes. He made 7 of 13 shots and 4 of 4 free throws.
“I think Bobby Portis is starting to prove as a sophomore just what kind of player he is,” South Carolina Coach Frank Martin said. “He was dominant.”
Arkansas junior guard Michael Qualls overcame a rough shooting start to finish with 11 points and nine rebounds. He missed his first 9 shots and finished 3 of 14 from the field.
Senior guard Ky Madden scored nine points for the Razorbacks, and Beard and junior forward Jacorey Williams added seven points each.
Sophomore guard Sindarius Thornwell led South Carolina (11-10, 2-7) with 16 points.
“Tremendous effort by our guys,” Anderson said. “Probably one of our better games we’ve played from a defensive standpoint.”
South Carolina had 20 turnovers and shot 27.9 percent (17 of 61) from the field.
“We just couldn’t hit a shot,” Martin said. “You can’t shoot 27 percent and expect to beat an NCAA Tournament team on the road. We have to score every once in a while.”
The Razorbacks, who had 11 turnovers, outscored the Gamecocks 21-1 in points off of turnovers.
“The tempo was to our liking,” Anderson said. “We wanted to get the ball up and down the floor. We wanted to play Hawgball, the fastest 40 minutes, 40 minutes of hell.
“We wanted to get the game where it ratcheted up a little bit, and I thought we did.”
Martin said the Gamecocks couldn’t keep up with the Razorbacks.
“Whenever we came up with a turnover or long rebounds of whatever we could figure out a way to come up with, we couldn’t outrun them down the court,” Martin said. “Any time we turned it over, they outran us down the court.
“I thought our transition defense was pretty good in the first half, but if you keep turning it over they just keep coming at you. That’s Arkansas’ strength. You play Arkansas and you turn that ball over, it’s a track meet.”
The Razorbacks took control of the game in the first half when they outscored the Gamecocks 18-3 during a 3:25 span, including Beard’s seven points, to take a 28-19 lead at the 5:28 mark. South Carolina didn’t pull closer than five points of the rest of the game.
The Razorbacks led 3528 at halftime and gradually pulled away in the second half.
“We had to start quick shooting, and you quick shoot against Arkansas it’s a layup drill on the other side,” Martin said.
The Razorbacks shot 39.4 percent (28 of 71) but had 15 offensive rebounds and outscored the Gamecocks 16-8 on second-chance points.
“We turned the ball over and they capitalized on our turnovers,” Thornwell said. “That’s what basically changed. They gained momentum and they built it from there.”
Arkansas improved to 64-7 in Walton Arena under Anderson, including 13-1 this season. Anderson evened his record against Martin at 6-6, including 2-2 in the SEC. They were 4-4 against each other in the Big 12, when Anderson coached at Missouri and Martin at Kansas State.
“Mike’s got a fun team,” Martin said. “They’re always fun to watch, and as a friend I’m real proud of the program he’s building here.”