FAYETTEVILLE — This was not like last Saturday when the Arkansas Razorbacks dominated defending national champion Florida. No one should have expected them to beat Ole Miss like that Saturday, and they did not. Things seemed safe in hand when Arkansas took a 16-2 lead at the outset, but this senior-laden Razorbacks team seems capable of taking a spring break at any time, and the lead evaporated to 30-29 right before halftime. It took a three-pointer by Sonny Weems, his first in seven attempts, for the Razorbacks to go into the locker room with a 34-29 halftime lead.

It might have been deja vu, like against South Carolina when Arkansas lost at Walton Arena, had it not been for a much better effort in the second half.

There was no Hawgball in the opening 20 minutes, and when Ole Miss quit helping the Hogs, it got treacherous.

When the Razorbacks led by 14, the Rebels were 1 of 11 from the field and had 7 turnovers. Most of those Ole Miss errors were unforced, although some of the walks in the paint were in an attempt to escape Steven Hill.

Andy Kennedy, who could pass for middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik’s brother, eased his Ole Miss team back into contention. The Hogs were shooting too soon, and most of the shots were not exactly the best option on the floor, which had John Pelphrey staring with disbelief.

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The Hogs opened the second half by missing their first six shots, Ole Miss hit three field goals in a row, and with 17: 33 to play Pelphrey took a timeout because his guys were not focused on either end of the court and the score was tied at 36.

Whatever he said during that 30-second break worked, allowing the Razorbacks to escape with a 75-69 victory.

Pelphrey might have threatened them with another late-night practice, which is what happened after the Lady Razorbacks’ game Thursday when he was not pleased with the afternoon effort.

Arkansas came out of that timeout and went inside to Darian Townes, who had single coverage. Townes got Arkansas’ first field goal of the half, then Beverley made 1 of 2 free throws. Weems came away with the rebound after an Ole Miss miss, roared down the court with his left hand, drew double coverage but made a perfect pass to Beverley, who was all net on the three.

It would not be Weems’ last assist. His flash pass to Michael Washington resulted in a field goal and a 50-43 lead with 12: 14 to play.

Weems followed an Ole Miss timeout with his second three in less than 90 seconds, and the Hogs were on top 53-43. But it was obvious by Pelphrey’s intensity that he was worried about another icy spot and the team slipping out of control.

He also knew Arkansas was benefiting by Ole Miss’ super freshman Chris Warren being on the bench with three fouls. By the time Warren returned the lead was at 12, and Ole Miss, the luckiest team in the SEC, needs him on the court.

Warren was headed to Virginia Commonwealth or Old Dominion when the Rebels lost their top two recruiting choices for point guard. They turned their attention to Warren, who leads them in scoring and has an assists-toturnovers ratio of almost 2-to-1.

Warren, who finished with 26 points, 18 in the second half, did more than bring his offense back to the game. Ole Miss’ defense, whether zone or man-to-man, tightened. The Hogs couldn’t have bought an open look at a Wal-Mart Supercenter.

The Rebels made six unanswered free throws, and with 6: 27 to play it was 59-53, but Gary Ervin made two free throws and Beverley was all net from the corner again for a 64-55 lead with 5: 10 to play.

A couple of threes and a steal and a layup by Warren made it 69-64 with 1: 28 to play.

Warren hit another three — wide open — with 49 seconds to play, and it was a one possession game.

But Weems hit a driving layup, Beverley grabbed his 13 th rebound after a Rebels miss and the Hogs remained tied for the SEC West lead at 6-2.

This week, on the road, they better pack the Hawgball.