Thomas gives UA timely lift

DALLAS — It was a twominute stretch of typical Charles Thomas contributions spread throughout Arkansas’ 85-78 victory over Baylor on Saturday night.

The Razorbacks trailed 68-66 when Thomas made two free throws at 7: 04. Then he made a short jumper to forge another tie at 70. Fouled inside, Thomas was perfect again at the free-throw line, part of a 7-for-8 night, that put the Razorbacks ahead for good. After slumping at the freethrow line earlier in December, Thomas has hit 15 of his past 16.

Less than a minute later, after securing a defensive rebound, Thomas threw in a soft lefthanded hook for a 74-70 lead with 5: 14 remaining. During that same scoring binge of eight points in a row, Thomas also drew one of his four charges against Bears’ players.

Thomas, who scored 10 of his 17 points after halftime, said he became more aggressive offensively when Baylor forward Kevin Rogers was plagued by second-half foul trouble.

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“Charles, being one of our seniors and one of our best post players, we had to get him the ball,” senior guard Sonny Weems said. “He made great plays for us. When we have a key mismatch, we do our best to get it to him.”

“I thought Charles played the way he needed to play for us to be successful,” Coach John Pelphrey said.

As for frustrating Baylor with the charges taken, that’s become one of Thomas’ specialties. He recalled drawing four charges in a previous game, then added “but who’s counting ?”

“I was just thinking about taking a good defensive approach for our team. I can’t block shots. God didn’t bless me with height in that area,” Thomas said. “But I tried my best to run under [opposing players driving to the basket ], and that’s what I do.” Hogs in the house

A spirited American Airlines Center crowd of 10, 056 included roughly 40 percent Arkansas fans and made the venue almost a neutral setting despite Baylor’s Waco campus 90 minutes away.

It’s become commonplace whenever a Razorback team plays in the Metroplex.

“I’ve been watching Arkansas’ history for a long time, and a lot of fans come out to watch the Arkansas Razorbacks in Dallas. I wasn’t surprised at all,” senior guard Sonny Weems said. “When you hear that pig sooie in the crowd, you just get a momentum boost.”

As the final seconds ticked away, Arkansas senior Charles Thomas grabbed the Arkansas on the top of his jersey and shook it so everyone could see who was on top. “It was all about the name on front of the jersey, not the back. I wanted to support our fans,” Thomas said. “We have tremendous fan support in Dallas.”

Little jumpers Arkansas’ Patrick Beverley and Baylor’s Aaron Bruce each grabbed the ball after the opening tipoff between 7-footers Steven Hill of Arkansas and Josh Lomers of Baylor. Since no possession had been established, there was another jump, with the 6-1 Beverley controlling the ball for the Razorbacks by outjumping the 6-2 Bruce. Fourth T for Pelphrey Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey drew his fourth technical foul of the season with 8: 58 left in the first half when he argued that a Baylor player should have been called for a foul after going over Darian Townes’ back on a rebound. Aaron Bruce hit 1 of 2 technical free throws to give the Bears a 27-26 lead.

Vs. Big 12 Arkansas improved to 2-1 against Big 12 teams this season. The Razorbacks beat Missouri 94-91 at Fayetteville and lost at Oklahoma 83-72. Baylor is 1-1 against SEC teams. The Bears won 92-84 at South Carolina on Dec. 19. Back in Alltel Saturday night’s game was the first of a two-game series between Arkansas and Baylor. The teams will play in Alltel Arena in North Little Rock next season. Is it January ? Too bad the Dallas weather wasn’t as nice for Tuesday’s Cotton Bowl as it was Saturday. Temperatures soared into the 70 s during the afternoon and people were able to pull out their shorts and T-shirts.

Too slippery Arkansas had its pregame shoot-around practice Saturday afternoon at nearby Duncanville High School as the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings played a hockey game at American Airlines Center. The Red Wings won 3-0. After arriving in Dallas on Friday night, the Razorbacks attended a Dallas Mavericks game against the Miami Heat, which the Mavs won. Remember Cancun ?

Saturday night’s game didn’t mark the first time Arkansas and Baylor ran into each other this school year, though it was their first meeting on the court since 1991.

The Razorbacks and Bears stayed at the same hotel in Cancun, Mexico, when both teams played exhibition games there over the Labor Day weekend.