FAYETTEVILLE — Courtney Fortson contends that he told Marshawn Powell he was due for a 20-point game.

It's easy to say so after the fact, but Fortson says it was the "buzz of the day," while smiling and looking over to Powell, who just scored 26 points in Arkansas' 92-79 win against South Carolina.

"These guys say a lot of things I don't believe," Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey said. "You shouldn't either."

Whether Fortson was kidding with the media after the Hogs' win, it didn't matter. Marshawn Powell was definitely due for a 20-point game and a big day in the paint.

After all, it was Powell who told us he was coming back to practice after a loss at Alabama full steam ahead.

“Hopefully, everybody else is ready to work,” Powell said Monday.

Powell delivered on the court, and with his words afterward as well.

"I just feel like I delivered. I feel like I did what I was supposed to be doing for a long time," Powell said.

Then came the power statement, much like his turnaround hook shots with his back to the defender and his one-handed dunk to conclude an alley-oop from guard Courtney Fortson against the Gamecocks.

"I feel like I’m ready now," he said. "I ain’t playing no more with nobody. I’m going to go hard 100 percent all the time, the whole game."

And that's big for Powell, who admitted to feeling the wear-and-tear 10 games into his freshman campaign in the SEC. He certainly has the size, but said he didn't necessarily have the strength to contend with the seasoned and muscle-bound forwards in the conference.

Perhaps he was being shy, but definitely not coy.

He's the hardest working player on the team right now, Pelphrey says.

And he continues to back it up.

It's too bad his effort and play Wednesday was overshadowed by the news of Ryan Mallett's injury. The Arkansas quarterback broke a bone in his left foot and will miss the entire spring, and could be out of action for up to four months.

But back to hardwood, where Powell was dominant.

His one-handed dunk from Fortson brought the house down during a 17-1 run by the Hogs, which looked as close to the SEC days of Nolan Richardson as any since Pelphrey's arrival at Arkansas.

A reporter asked Powell if he thought the dunk would make ESPN's top plays on SportsCenter.

"Of course not," he said. "That was so weak. I was so tired when I dunked it."

"Dude, you almost fell," Fortson smiled.

Fortson's words of encouragement to Powell, though, may not have been a fib. After all, it was the mostly serious Powell who brought up the 20-point chatter during the postgame session with the media.

"They told me I was due for a 20-point game, so I just went out there and tried as hard as I could," Powell said. "Shots were falling. (South Carolina) just couldn’t do anything with me inside."

Fortson approached the freshman forward in the locker room and during shootaround with his prediction, Powell said.

But some of the hard work was louder than Fortson or Powell's words after the win. For the second game in a row at home, Powell was alone on the court taking shots nearly two hours before tipoff.

His hard work, sometimes not seen and easily overlooked, has become apparent as a freshman.

He's already a leader in the locker room, Pelphrey said Monday. That's big news for Arkansas, which also bolsters Mike Washington in the paint. The senior became the 33rd player in school history to score 1,000 points in a career.

Washington — who scored 8 points — has struggled of late with foul trouble. He played just 13 minutes against the Gamecocks, but did his job when available. Meanwhile, Powell has filled in more than adequately.

Most important for the Hogs is that the players have found their roles and played within themselves of late. Marcus Britt is playing sound defense, and helped hold the SEC's leading scorer, Devan Downey, to just 8 points in the first half. Downey also turned the ball over six times in the first half, including a Britt steal and lay-up with 10 seconds remaining.

The confidence is apparent with the Razorbacks, who have won six of their last seven games.

And verbal encouragement from players have led to wins on the court.

"I think it's important for those guys to take ownership of the team," Pelphrey said. "There's a reason why we work so hard and hopefully those guys feel like they're paying a price and they can hold each other accountable."

This much was certain Wednesday night: Powell held himself accountable after the Alabama loss.

And he was due for a big game.

Brandon Marcello is the online sports editor for Northwest Arkansas Newspapers and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He also runs The Slophouse, a blog covering the Razorbacks on WholeHogSports.com.