FAYETTEVILLE — A coach’s worst nightmare unfolded for 7 minutes, 18 seconds.

Three days after an emotionally draining victory over Missouri, Arkansas missed its first nine shots Saturday. Oral Roberts, meanwhile, couldn’t miss. The Golden Eagles scored the game’s first 10 points, turned Bud Walton Arena into a library and had Arkansas’ first-year coach wanting to wake up.

“There was a lot of things going through my head,” Pelphrey told reporters. “You don’t want to hear all of those things.”

The Razorbacks apparently didn’t either. Arkansas increased its defensive intensity and used 37 points from its bench to grit past Oral Roberts 62-51 before a crowd of 12,721. The Golden Eagles scored just 41 points in the final 32 minutes, 42 seconds and experienced problems with Arkansas’ size and athleticism.

As for the horrid start, Pelphrey couldn’t argue with the Razorbacks’ effort.

“I don’t think there was any dogging going on,” Pelphrey said. “You hear me talk about that ‘magic level.’ I think we were doing too much offensively. I think our guys were surprised at how tough it was early on.”

The Hogs (6-1) rushed shots and settled for low-percentage looks. A few examples of the shots misfired: Charles Thomas hurried a 3-pointer, Townes airballed an off-balance 15-footer, and Patrick Beverley forced a line-drive 18-footer.

The Razorbacks finally came to life offensively — Michael Washington’s tip-in at the 12:42 mark started the Arkansas scoring. But the rally “was more about defense than anything,” Pelphrey said.

“We knew it was a long game,” point guard Gary Ervin said. “We didn’t want to try to get it back in one shot. We just wanted to chip away at the lead.”

Defense made that possible. Oral Roberts (4-3) scored just three points in the next 10 minutes, 11 seconds. The Golden Eagles still managed to possess a 36-26 lead with 17:09 left, but a 16-2 Arkansas spurt ensued, a run that took 5 minutes, 46 seconds.

Thomas scored strong on back-to-back baskets. Beverley knocked down a 3-pointer. Ervin fought hard for a driving layup. Washington drained an 18-footer and a 3-pointer. Ervin capped the burst by swiping the ball from ORU’s Adam Liberty in the backourt and scoring uncontested.

And all the while, Arkansas’ defense hounded the Golden Eagles, inducing terrible shots, forcing turnovers, drawing prolonged roars from the home crowd.

“We allowed too many easy baskets in the second half,” ORU coach Scott Sutton said. “They got offensive rebounds and got out in transition. Those were two of the biggest keys coming into this game.”

“I think their defense had a lot to do with it.”

Though his team’s sluggish opening stretch startled him, Pelphrey came away impressed with the resolve of his Razorbacks. He now knows they are capable of winning a track meet — see Missouri — as well as a contest with a tortoise-like pace.

“It’s good to be able to win both ways,” Pelphrey said.