WholeHogSports
ARKANSAS 78 VANDERBILT 73 : Struggling Hogs drop Vanderbilt
Posted on Sunday, March 2, 2008
URL: http://www.wholehogsports.com/nwat/62757/
With some technical assistance, the Razorbacks defeated the nation’s 14 th-ranked team, 78-73 Saturday afternoon at Walton Arena.
The Vanderbilt Commodores, recent victors over No. 1 ranked Tennessee, called a timeout they didn’t have in the final 7. 3 seconds. The resulting automatic technical foul from Vandy forward Ross Neltner calling timeout with none left enabled Sonny Weems, 6 of 6 on free throws in the final 10. 8 seconds, to sink two free throws advancing Arkansas from up 74-73 to 76-73 before Weems got fouled on the ensuing inbounds play to sink two more freebies for the final margin of victory.
“ It was just a matter of being man enough to make them, ” Weems said. “ I wanted them. ”
Thus the Razorbacks, who did everything wrong in a 59-56 loss last Wednesday at Alabama against a now 4-10 team in the Southeast- ern Conference, closed doing everything right to beat Vanderbilt (24-5, 9-5 ).
The Commodores had won seven in a row.
Saturday’s success rekindles Arkansas (19-9, 8-6 ) in what had been fading NCAA Tournament at-large hopes as the Hogs head to Ole Miss for Tuesday’s 8 p. m. SEC game on ESPN. They finish the regular season hosting Auburn in a Saturday game at Walton Arena at 5 p. m. on ESPN Classic.
Senior Weems of West Memphis, needing 15 shots to score 17 at Alabama, required only nine shots and made five from the field Saturday while hitting 7 of 8 from the free throw line to lead Arkansas with 20 points.
He shared the spotlight with several Razorbacks Saturday. Sophomore guard Patrick Beverley, his offensive game ready to be placed with missing persons on a milk carton, rediscovered his touch after nightly sessions shooting on his own at Walton Arena. Beverley scored 17, including 5 of 7 treys.
“ It was beautiful, ” Weems said of Beverley. “ When he got open, he knocked down shots. ”
Beverley worked nights for this one.
“ I’ve been doing this in the gym the last couple of nights, ” Beverley said. “ You only get out what you put into it. ”
Senior center Darian Townes, in his first SEC start of the season, scored 13 points as did Gary Ervin, the 6-foot senior point guard who compiled seven assists versus a lone turnover. Ervin also pulled down the biggest rebound of the game, sank critical free throws after fouled on that rebound with 25 seconds left and Arkansas only up 70-68.
Though just in for 11 foulplagued minutes, senior center Steven Hill was defensively huge with four shot blocks, including two during Vandy’s six-shot possession that included Weems blocking a Jermaine Beal three and finally ended with Ervin (“ all of 5-feet nothing, going as high as he ever went and taking the ball, ” Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said ) in a crowd rebounding Shan Foster’s 3-point miss with 25 seconds left.
Foster, an incredible 6 of 8 on 3-pointers and a gameleading 22 points, didn’t miss nine seconds later “ on a three so far in the corner it was from the cheerleaders, ” Pelphrey said.
That pulled Vandy to down just 72-71 with 16 seconds left before Weems was fouled and hit two free throws at 10. 8.
Fearing a game-tying Foster three, Pelphrey ordered the Hogs to hack Beal upon crossing halfcourt at 7. 3 seconds.
Beal sank them both. Neltner called timeout, and Weems sunk the Commodores in their technical difficulties.
Both Pelphrey and Vandy coach Kevin Stallings took pains to praise Neltner whose 14 points and 6 rebounds along with the 20 points and 6 rebounds by Vandy center A. J. Ogilvy to go with Foster’s 22 required Arkansas to need its season best shooting, 28 of 48 from the field with 9 of 16 treys, to prevail.
“ Vanderbilt doesn’t win 24 games, or be in position without that young man (Neltner ), ” Pelphrey said.
“ Shan was fantastic, ” Stallings said. “ And A. J. and Ross were very good. I don’t know what happened on the timeout. Just one of those things. That’s the first time we had a slipup like that. ”
Arkansas doesn’t win without a team effort that almost galled Pelphrey as much as it pleased him.
“ I don’t know how to say this, ” Pelphrey said. “ I’m happy that we won but I’m not happy with this team. Tonight you saw courage, toughness. I want to see that when we pack up to go on the road (2-5 in SEC road games ). Bud Walton is electric, but (on the road ) we don’t need mommy cutting corners off our bread and cutting our chicken nuggets for us. We need to be men and play that way. ”
Certainly they played manly Saturday afternoon, three times regaining the lead in the second half they had in the first half as much as by 12.
“ I saw Patrick Beverley attacking, ” Pelphrey said. “ I saw Steven Hill’s nose bleeding and he’s battling and blocking shots. And Gary Ervin, seven assists and one turnover, keeping us under control and getting the biggest rebound of the game. Down the stretch we played defense without fouling and we made free throws. Today I had the sense they weren’t going to lose the game, that somebody was going to do something. I want to get that feeling on the road. ”
Arkansas generally has been beating Vandy home and road even when, like Saturday, the Commodores sported the better record and haven’t won here since 1996.
“ If you line up their talent, ” Stallings said, “ and our talent, I’m not so sure most coaches would take their talent. We were close, but we weren’t hitting on enough cylinders and Arkansas played very well and did the things they had to do to win the game. ”