Backups fill void for Hogs

FAYETTEVILLE — It becomes a curious side note, the fact Arkansas played one of its best games minus starting forward Charles Thomas during Wednesday’s 78-58 rout of SEC West-leading Mississippi State.

Sophomore Michael Washington got the start at Thomas’ power forward spot and supplied eight points and four rebounds in 22 minutes of action.

Senior Vincent Hunter played a seasonhigh 15 minutes off the bench, his first doublefigure minutes since Dec. 12, and had three points and three rebounds.

Thomas, the team’s fourthleading scorer at 10. 5 points per game, was suspended for at least one game for an unspecified violation of team rules. He was not on the Arkansas bench, and Coach John Pelphrey has not stipulated when or if Thomas will return.

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“We’ll address that later,” Pelphrey said. “We’re going to talk about the guys who played tonight.”

Washington and Hunter each supplied an assist and only accounted for one turnover in a solid 37 minutes of combined play. Washington fed one of a trio of Sonny Weems three-pointers during a key stretch of the first half and scored on a drive down the right baseline in the early going. “Charles gives great effort and we had to make big steps for him,” Washington said. “Me and Vincent made those big steps for him. We did what we had to do.” Hunter’s three-pointer splashed down from the top of the circle at the 4: 18 mark of the second half, giving the Hogs a 59-45 lead and reigniting the Walton Arena crowd. “How special a moment was that, when that three-point shot went in ?” Pelphrey asked. “And he shot it from Little Rock. That was huge. That was pretty cool.”

10 in 66 Arkansas’ Sonny Weems pulled off a rarity when he scored 10 points in a span of 1: 06 in the first half.

Weems sank a fallaway three-pointer from the left wing to break an 11-11 tie and start the outburst at the 11: 14 mark. After Phil Turner missed a three-pointer for Mississippi State, Weems got another feed on the left wing from Patrick Beverley and buried another three-ball with a classic release and follow-through.

Elgin Bailey turned it over on a traveling call on the other end, setting the stage for Weems to come off a screen with Ravern Johnson glued to him and drill another three-pointer with a foul to boot on a pass from Michael Washington. Weems made the four-point play at the 10: 08 mark to give the Razorbacks a 21-11 edge. Taking it to Jarvis

Arkansas’ game plan regarding the shot-blocking expertise of Mississippi State’s long-armed Jarvis Varnado ?

Go right at him.

The move paid dividends in the early going, with Patrick Beverley driving the lane and drawing a shooting foul on the 6-9 Varnado, who averages 5. 2 blocks per game, on the game’s first possession.

“Coach [John ] Pelphrey and this coaching staff, they prepped us real well for this game,” Beverley said. “Because they don’t have a lot of depth with big men, Coach said to just go right at him, get him in early foul trouble. That kind of takes him out of the game and makes it easier for us, being the great shot blocker that he is.”

Minutes later, Darian Townes backed in on Varnado and was rewarded with a shooting foul at the 13: 50 mark, putting Varnado on the bench for the rest of the half.

“I think Jarvis is the platform of our defense... so it disrupted a lot of things when they took him out of the game,” Mississippi State guard Jamont Gordon said.

“That really caused us to have to go to the bench with guys, three freshmen coming off that bench,” State Coach Rick Stansbury said.

Varnado got some revenge in the second half, swatting shots by Beverley, Townes and Beverley again to finish with four blocks. Pelphreys in town

Jack and Jennie Pelphrey, parents of Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey, drove in from Paintsville, Ky., and were in attendance at Walton Arena.

The couple plans to be in Fayetteville through next Saturday’s game against Ole Miss, then drive to the Razorbacks’ road game at Tennessee on Feb. 13 before returning home.

“They put on a show here,” Jack Pelphrey said. “And this area is the best-kept secret in the country. We could settle down here.” Inside the numbers

Arkansas hit just one of its first 10 shots from the field to open the game, then went 0 for 8 to start the second half. Add it up, and the Razorbacks were an icy 1 for 18 in the opening moments of each half. Otherwise, Arkansas made 21 of 43 shots, or 48. 8 percent. The Razorbacks’ total for the night, 36. 1 percent, was its lowest of the season. A slam by Sonny Weems on the break with 4: 45 remaining gave Arkansas 68 points, tying the most points scored against Mississippi State in SEC play this season. The Razorbacks’ 78-point total was the second-most scored by a Mississippi State opponent this season, trailing only Clemson’s production in an 84-82 Tigers victory on Nov. 15. Traveling Stansburys

The family of Mississippi State Coach Rick Stansbury was active, as usual, despite the road venue and the school night. Two of his young boys, among the three who were in attendance, led the Bulldogs on the court before the game. They and their mother, Meo Stansbury, sat right behind Stansbury’s seat on the Mississippi State bench.