FAYETTEVILLE — John Pelphrey wasn’t too pleased with the lack of gumption from his younger players this week.

For some reason, the desire to dive for loose balls and speed after rebounds had slowed. So the coach had a video produced of Arkansas’ best hustle plays from last season and showed it to the Razorbacks.

What resulted was one of the best, hustle-filled performances for the Razorbacks Saturday before a season-best announced crowd of 8,859 at Bud Walton Arena.

Most importantly, it led to a 72-69 win over Stephen F. Austin (6-4), and Arkansas (6-5) stretched its winning streak to four games.

And it all started with a veteran, Michael Washington. The forward with the bad back was diving on the floor for loose balls, dribbling into the paint like a small forward and scored a game-high 25 points. He also grabbed 12 rebounds to finish with his first double-double since Arkansas’ 81-72 win in overtime over Appalachian State on Nov. 20.

“He’s had some great performances since he’s been here, but this one was really, really needed,” Pelphrey said.

Washington had the basketball in his hands for most of the night, taking 18 shots and coming up with three steals and a block.

Even with the extra load, not once did the he turn the ball over.

“You would think he would have one or two — a travel, a charge,” Pelphrey said. “He didn't. Pretty impressive because you've got to believe the first name on the board in their locker room was what they’re going to do with him.”

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The Lumberjacks couldn’t do much to stop Washington early. He scored 17 of Arkansas’ first 23 points and even hit two three-pointers to match the game of three-point specialist Rotnei Clarke, who returned after sitting out early this week because of tendonitis in his left knee.

For the second time this week, Arkansas wasn’t afraid to let their game plan known to the opposing team. And the Razorbacks never did deviate from feeding the ball to the post.

Seventy-five percent of the Razorbacks’ shot attempts in the first half came from Washington and frontcourt mate Marshawn Powell.

Washington and Powell’s tenacious play was contagious early in the second half. Washington dove on the floor for a loose ball and fed Welsh up court, Powell scored five consecutive points and had a one-handed slam dunk on a three-point miss by Washington, and Marcus Britt found openings along the baseline and got to the free throw line.

What resulted was an 11-0 run and 47-40 lead for Arkansas. It was a lead, despite a hard-charge by the Lumberjacks against Arkansas’ switch to a zone defense, the Hogs never relinquished.

“I'm disappointed we lost, but by the same token, I feel like our players came up here and gave them a good game,” Stephen F. Austin Coach Danny Kaspar said. “And I think that Arkansas, particularly in the second half, played pretty good basketball.”

It also hurt the Lumberjacks that guard Walt Harris played five minutes in the second half, checking out with 15:13 remaining and a 40-39 lead. Harris strained his back and took a seat on the bench after scoring a team-high 22 points in only 23 minutes on the court.

If available, Kaspar probably would have looked to Harris late in the game for a three-pointer to force overtime. Instead, Mark Gomillia took a wide-open look on the right wing and missed long off the far side of the rim as the buzzer sounded.

Pelphrey preached to his players to play tougher than they had in the past and Arkansas did just that when it mattered most.

“The thing that swung this game was those guys’ mentality,” Pelphrey said. “They never lost their attitude. They stayed the course, they kept fighting and they competed.”

And perhaps the first time all season, Washington is back to full health. His leaps on the floor and physical play underneath the basket was enough evidence. Then Washington, who missed two games due to a sprained back earlier this season, said it himself: he’s 100 percent healthy.

That’s good news for Arkansas, which has dealt with a bevy of suspensions and health issues. Clarke’s knee slowed the guard at times and kept the sophomore out of the starting lineup, but he still produced with 9 points.

Sophomore point guard Courtney Fortson has missed all 11 games due to suspension and his status for Arkansas’ next game against Missouri State on Tuesday is still in the air.

“I would say that the plan in place is going well,” Pelphrey said. “We'll see what happens.”

Until Fortson’s future is settled, Arkansas won’t deviate from feeding the ball to a healthy Washington.

“There are so many teams across the country that would like to have a big man like Mike,” said Welsh, who hit a couple of big shots and finished with 13 points off the bench. “He can get big buckets down the stretch.

“ ... When he’s got it going, it opens it up for everybody else.”

Brandon Marcello is the online editor of WholeHogSports.com. He can be reached at bmarcello@wholehogsports.com.