Relentless. That’s what the Arkansas Razorbacks were Wednesday night, and it paid off for them when they needed it most.

No. 25 Mississippi State had drawn a line in the sand by building a commanding two-game early lead in the SEC Western Division race.

The Hogs had given ground with two almost inexplicable losses to South Carolina and Georgia.

If the Razorbacks were to remain a factor in the hunt for the SEC title, they had to dig in and win without senior forward Charles Thomas, who was suspended and not on the bench after breaking a team rule.

And that’s what they did. The Razorbacks played the Bulldogs off their feet in Arkansas’ most consistent and complete game of the season.

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It earned the Hogs a resounding 78-58 victory, which leaves them a single game behind the Bulldogs in the West and still in contention for the overall title.

Through the first eight minutes of the game, MSU guard Jamont Gordon controlled the tempo, but Sonny Weems ’ sweet stroke changed all that. The senior from West Memphis canned a trio of 3-pointers in a row and added a free throw after the final one when MSU forward Ravern Johnson fouled him on the release.

Those baskets capped a 15-0 Razorbacks run that would put the Hogs in the driver’s seat for the rest of the game, but Weems (22 points ) wasn’t the only Hog making things happen.

While MSU big men Charles Rhodes and Jarvis Varnado had been a two-headed wrecking ball in their first five SEC games, Hogs Steven Hill, Darian Townes, Michael Washington and Vincent Hunter worked them over in the first half, making them almost a nonfactor.

Patrick Beverley, Gary Ervin and Stefan Welsh did their part on defense, too, forcing the Bulldogs’ younger guards into playing at an unaccustomed pace that led to MSU’s 13 first-half turnovers and 22 for the game.

The Hogs themselves showed the focus Arkansas coach John Pelphrey has been calling for all season with an acceptable 7 turnovers in the first half and 11 overall.

All that plus a key 3-pointer by Welsh with 2: 43 to play, an outstanding drive-and-draw 3-point play by Beverley and an alley-oop jam by Hill off an assist by Ervin gave the Razorbacks a comfortable 43-28 lead at halftime.

Halftime leads often mean little in college basketball, but this season they have been significant for the Razorbacks.

Coming into Wednesday’s game, the Hogs were 12-0 in games in which they led at the half. And thanks to the Hogs’ focused second-half effort, the mark is now 13-0.

With the Bulldogs on the mat, the Razorbacks never let them up despite the determined play of Gor don and Rhodes, two All-SEC-type players.

The Razorbacks kept playing defense, kept pushing the tempo and kept pounding the boards until they earned the double-digit blowout.

With a team as talented and confident as MSU, no lead is completely safe. But the play that told everyone in the building that the Hogs had the game in their pocket came around the 4: 45 mark.

It started with Hill’s block of a Rhodes shot. Hill kept the ball in play and forwarded it to Beverley to set up a crushing Dr. J-type dunk by Weems for a 68-52 lead.

Now the Razorbacks need to bottle their effort and keep improv ing on it because things only get tougher as they move through league play.

On Saturday, Billy Donovan brings the two-time defending national champion Florida Gators to Bud Walton Arena for a 2 p. m. clash with the Hogs.

Gone are most of the familiar names who captured those titles, but Florida remains a power as evidenced by its 86-64 thrashing of then-No. 13 Vanderbilt on Jan. 26. The Gators had an open date Wednesday and will be rested and ready to play Saturday.

The game will be televised by Raycom on Cox Cable Channel 7 in Northwest Arkansas, but do yourself a favor. Find a ticket and attend the game if you can. The effort should be well worth it.

Terry J. Wood is the sports editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times.