Friday night at the Miracle League reception in North Little Rock, the crowd was overflowing, but when the rain stopped, three guys moved outside.

B. J. Maack was using his phone to get updates on the Arkansas Razorbacks’ basketball game against Southeastern Louisiana for Dr. Jimmy Tucker and yours truly.

When the Hogs tied it to go to overtime, hasty goodbyes were shouted and it was off to the car to catch the extra period.

It was not shocking, or even mildly surprising for that matter, that Southeastern Louisiana had taken the Razorbacks to the limit.

ADVERTISEMENT

While John Pelphrey’s first team at Arkansas was largely dysfunctional, it did consist of six seniors with experience — and Patrick Beverley.

All of them are gone now and with them went 86 percent of the scoring, 83 percent of the rebounding and 79 percent of the assists.

In other words, along with the top five scorers from last season, most every statistical leader was no longer on campus.

Last Friday in the season opener against Southeastern Louisiana, Pelphrey started two juniors, Michael Washington and Stefan Welsh, and three freshmen who were getting their first real college game experience.

Redshirt freshman Michael Sanchez fouled out, which might be a frequent event since he plays all out all the time, but by the time he got his fifth foul, he had grabbed 12 rebounds.

Courtney Fortson logged 37 minutes, scored 18 points and had seven assists.

Rotnei Clarke played 39 minutes and scored 17 points, including hitting 5 of 8 threepoint attempts.

The problem Friday, and one that might plague the Razorbacks this season (along with the inexperience ), was they got very little help from the bench.

Montrell McDonald, a junior college transfer, got seven big points and sophomore Marcus Britt scored five. That was the sum total of bench scoring.

No one will ever confuse that with a good thing, especially as the season ripens and fatigue can become a factor.

Washington took advantage of almost every second he was on the floor, scoring 30 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, but he had to play 41 minutes. The Razorbacks have 30 more games before March Madness, and that’s enough wear and tear on a guy without having to play 90 percent of the time.

Before last season ended, Pelphrey told Washington what was going to be expected of him this season, and that he had a lot of work to do.

It appears Washington was paying attention.

Not to mention that the paint usually is a little more open if you have a true threepoint shooter like Clarke and a point guard who can break you down with a crossover dribble and pass it or penetrate.

This young team has a chance to improve if it avoids serious injuries, but that might not show up in the victory column.

What Pelphrey has assembled is a team that likes to push it and can be fun to watch.

Last year, his initial season, he took over a bunch of veterans who for the most part performed as if they didn’t like each other.

They managed to win 23 games and beat Indiana in the NCAA Tournament.

This year’s bunch likes each other, is much more team-oriented, has more overall talent and probably won’t crack the 20-victory mark.

For this team to get consideration from — it is painful to write this — the NIT, it will need to learn and grow at full speed.

McDonald and Britt gave help off the bench, but Brandon Moore, Jason Henry and Andre Clark will need to contribute. There are times Stephen Cox will be needed, too.

So, while it was not a shock the Hogs were stretched to the limit by Southeastern Louisiana, it would have been a surprise had they gotten beat. But in overtime, they took control and found a way to win.