Arkansas Falls To 2-1 In SEC
Last updated Wednesday, January 16, 2008 11:10 PM CST in Columns
By Harry King
STEPHENS MEDIA ARKANSAS NEWS BUREAU
FAYETTEVILLE -- At 47-44, I glanced at the monitor in front of the Arkansas broadcast team.
Arkansas had 15 turnovers, South Carolina only eight and the Gamecocks had scored 18 off the Razorbacks' mistakes.
By the time I found a place for that nugget, South Carolina led 54-46 and had scored 20 points off 17 turnovers.
Shortly after that, it dawned on the home crowd that this was a Southeastern Conference game and that their Razorbacks were in trouble. It should be obvious by now that no matter the W-L record on a team's resume, every league game will be a dogfight for Arkansas, particularly when the opponent has a guard like 5-foot-9 Devan Downey.
The irony is that Downey was supposed to visit Arkansas a couple of years ago, but was told to stay home because the Razorbacks had decided to offer Sean McCurdy who left Fayetteville after two years.
Some wiseacre suggested that Dave Odom recruited Downey so the coach and player could see eye to eye, but I suspect Downey's skills were a factor. That, and his fervor for the competition. It was Downey who handled the ball down the stretch, Downey who started in and fell back with a jumper for 68-64, Downey who made two free throws with 9.5 seconds to play, and Downey who uttered a "Yessss," when Steven Hill missed the first of two free throws at 64-60.
Criticized by the media for handing out only one assist against Tennessee, the transfer from Cincinnati took it upon himself to make certain the Gamecocks recorded their first league victory and handed Arkansas its initial conference loss.
He scored 28 points, including 9-of-18 from the floor, and many of his attempts came from in close after he had outquicked a defender.
At 64-61, Downey stopped dribbling long enough to hand off to Sam Muldrow who handed it right back so Downey could begin a new dribble. The shot clock was winding down when Downey got Charles Thomas off his feet with a head fake and made two free throws.
Sonny Weems, who scored 21 of his 28 in the second half, responded to the announcement that one minute remained with a 3. When Downey scored again with 16.5 seconds to play, some people headed for the exits.
"We knew coming through the door this young man was unguardable by yourself," said Arkansas coach John Pelphrey.
The 70-66 loss was particularly damaging to Arkansas in light of other results around the league. The 2-1 Razorbacks have a legitimate road game Saturday against Georgia, which rallied Wednesday night to beat Alabama. Meanwhile, Ole Miss improved to 2-1 with a victory over Florida one night after Mississippi State reached 3-0 by beating Kentucky.
"SEC basketball is crazy," Odom said.
Weems suffered two of his four turnovers in the final 11 minutes, including a pass that was too tall for even the 7-foot Hill. Point guards Stefan Welsh and Gary Ervin had a total of seven turnovers and seven assists.
Poor outside shooting also hurt Arkansas. For the night, the Razorbacks were 25-of-53 from the floor, including 22-of-39 from inside the 3-point line.
In the first half, Hill made all six of his shots and I felt fortunate that an allergy flare-up had ended so I could witness his proficient post play. The popcorn at the theater showing "The Bucket List" must have been the source of the watery eyes.
Although Hill was working against smaller defenders when the visitors challenged him at all, he showed off a true post move on his first basket -- a turn to his right for a short jumper. He also made tip-ins and dunks, including finishing a couple of set-up passes from Ervin. To appreciate Hill's half-dozen field goal attempts, you need to know that he had attempted only 40 shots in 16 previous games. Only once all year had he shot more than four times in a game.
Hill was going so good that coach Pelphrey subbed him for his offense, probably a first in the Razorback career of the shot-blocking specialist. That occurred with two seconds left in the half, but an attempt to duplicate Christian Laettner's 1992 catch-and-shoot against Kentucky failed. He missed his three attempts in the second half.
Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com.
About this columnist
The dean of Arkansas sports writers, Harry King updates his column five days per week with the latest on the Razorbacks. A 35-year veteran of The Associated Press, King joined the Arkansas News Bureau in May of 2002. He's covered the Razorbacks since the Arkansas-Texas game dubbed the Big Shootout in 1969.
Reader Comments (No comments posted.)
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.
Not already registered?
