Seldom do Arkansas-Ole Miss games look pretty, like Arkansas ’ 16-2 start late Saturday afternoon at Walton Arena.

This one wouldn’t, either.

However after Ole Miss caught them 36-36 by 17: 35 of the second half, the Razorbacks sucked it up and ground out a 75-69 SEC victory typical of ugly, hard-fought Arkansas-Mississippi games past.

The victory, their fourth straight, vaults the Razorbacks to 17-5 and 6-2 in the SEC West for either first or second best in the West depending how Mississippi State — 6-2 at Saturday’s outset — fared Saturday night at Auburn.

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Ole Miss, 15-0 nonconference but struggling in the SEC, is 16-5, 3-5 in the West.

Arkansas coach John Pelphrey credited a vociferous, 19, 916 packed house with helping pull his Razorbacks through.

“ We had 20, 000 people who had our back tonight, ” Pelphrey said.

Maybe so, but their efforts were twice double-doubled by Sonny Weems and Patrick Beverley coming to the front.

Arkansas 6-6 senior small forward Weems netted a team-leading 22 points with 12 rebounds while 6-1 sophomore guard Beverley netted 17 points and 13 rebounds.

The Hogs needed all the winging from the wings they could muster to offset Chris Warren, the Rebels ’ fabulous freshman point guard with a game-leading 26 points, 6 of 8 on treys, plus 5 assists.

Arkansas senior 6-10 center Darian Townes also played a big role with 14 points and 5 rebounds. Townes was often in an offense-defense platoon with starting 7-foot Arkansas shot-blocker Steven Hill against a big Ole Miss frontline headed by 6-8, 280-pound senior center Dwayne Curtis, a double-double 12 points and game-leading 14 rebounds.

Winging from the wings for Weems and Beverley might not be the most accurate description considering the Hogs made fewer threes, 6 for 25, on more attempts than Ole Miss’ 9 of 19 and shot a poorer percentage from the field 39. 4 to 41. 4 percent.

Committing four less turnovers, 13 to 17, and outrebounding Ole Miss 47-39 was pivotal, as was slashing inside enough to have 32 free throw attempts, sinking 19, while the Rebels shot 12 of 23 from the line.

Though not shooting well from the three, the Hogs still hit some big ones including Weems ’ rainbow with 10 seconds left before half to secure a 5-point halftime lead and a Beverley trey to give Arkansas 64-55 breathing room with 5: 10 left in the game.

The biggest basket, with Ole Miss on the march after a charging call voided Arkansas point guard Gary Ervin’s basket at 2: 09, was Weems’ pickand-roll drive to the hole for a layup with the shot-clock close to elapsing and the game clock with 20 seconds left to advance Arkansas from a precarious 3-point lead what proved an insurmountable 72-67 edge.

Beverley, twice, and Ervin, once, would sink free throws with 11 seconds and 7 seconds left before Ole Miss scored uncontested at the buzzer.

“ Coach called a pick and roll with me and Darian and I just tried to make something happen, ” Weems said of his game-sealer. “ Either I made the shot or gave it to somebody else so they could make the shot. ”

This was one Sonny shot Pelphrey unequivocally was glad his senior took.

“ That was a big, big shot, ” Pelphrey said. “ The game could have changed on the [Ervin ] call. ”

Arkansas zoomed to a 16-2 lead at 12: 38 but didn’t score again until 8: 41, a basketball eternity lingering like old “ American Bandstand” leader Dick Clark’s decades of catering to 16 year-olds, it seemed.

It was at least long enough for Ole Miss to creep back in it.

Ole Miss pulled as close to down 30-29 at 1: 45 before Weems ’ trey with 10 seconds left gave the Hogs a 34-29 intermission lead.

Weems ’ trey was one of only three 3-pointers Arkansas made in 16 first-half attempts.

Though a first-year Arkansas coach, Pelphrey knew from Arkansas-Ole Miss past, including having former Ole Miss coach Rob Evans on staff as his top assistant, that the Rebels would not stay down long in their 16-2 deficit.

“ Our defense got off to a great start, ” Pelphrey said. “ It wasn’t quite that good the rest of the night, but you knew you weren’t going to keep them at those percentages. They are too good and play too hard. I’m very impressed with Ole Miss. ”

Especially Warren.

“ Remarkable what that young man is doing, ” Pelphrey said. “ Man he’s good ! Unflappable, shoots the 3, drives to the basket. He’s Devan Downey-like [South Carolina guard Devan Downey scored 28 in Arkansas’ lone Walton Arena loss of 2007-08 ] and you know how good Devan Downey is. ”