UA’s Ervin remains a thorn in Vandy’s side

BY MATT JONES Special to the Times

Posted on Saturday, March 15, 2008

URL: http://www.wholehogsports.com/nwat/63186/

ATLANTA — By his own account, Gary Ervin has had his fair share of ups and downs during his two years with the Arkansas Razorbacks. But Ervin admits a good portion of those ups have come against Vanderbilt.

The senior point guard from Brooklyn, N. Y., played a large role in eliminating the Commodores in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament for the second straight year Friday. Ervin scored 14 of his season-high 18 points in the second half as the Razorbacks advanced with an 81-75 victory at the Georgia Dome.

“ We wanted to come out and play with a sense of urgency to win a basketball game, ” Ervin said. “ This is just something we wish we could have done throughout the whole season — to play smart basketball. ”

Ervin hurt the Commodores in a variety of ways, hitting 5-of-7 shots from the field, all seven of his free throws and dishing out 3 assists to 3 turnovers.

Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings said Ervin and the Razorbacks play with a different confidence against his team.

“[He was ] pretty efficient, ” Stallings said. “ He scored 18 points and took seven shots. That’s usually a pretty good sign. It was a little better than he played against Auburn. ”

Ervin struggled to hit shots in the Hogs’ regularseason finale against Auburn last weekend, finishing 1 of 6 from the floor and missing both free-throw attempts en route to a 2-point performance.

Against Vanderbilt, Ervin atoned for a third straight off-game by senior forward Sonny Weems. Weems, who led Arkansas in scoring during the regular season, scored just 3 points in the win Friday.

Ervin was instrumental in downing the Commodores in the SEC Tournament last season, hitting a running layin with 11 seconds remaining to record a 72-71 win.

“ We approached [Friday’s game ] like we approached it last year, ” Ervin said. “ That’s to go out there and have fun, play smart and win a ballgame. ”

With the win, Arkansas (21-10 ) looks to have secured an at-large spot for the NCAA Tournament. But Ervin said that tournament wasn’t on the Hogs’ mind against the Commodores.

“ We didn’t put a lot of pressure on ourselves to think about the NCAA Tournament, ” Ervin said. “ We just wanted to go out and win to advance to the next round. ”

In four career games against Vanderbilt since transferring to Arkansas, Ervin has averaged 14. 5 points, including his seasonhigh each year. Arkansas is 4-0 against the Commodores during that span.

Ervin said a lot of factors contribute to his personal success against Vanderbilt.

“ They’re a great team and every time we play them they’re ranked highly, ” Ervin said. “ That’s something we cherish and we want to be in the same position those guys are in. ”