ANTHONY REYES Northwest Arkansas Times Arkansas freshman guard Jason Henry shoots over Texas Southern in the first half Wednesday in Bud Walton Arena. Henry had 19 points and seven rebounds in the Hogs ’ 80-61 win.

For the first time in six nonconference games, these now 5-1 Razorbacks had a game in hand by half.

Well before half, in fact.

Arkansas led 43-25 at intermission and increased it during the second half to skin the winless Texas Southern University Tigers, 80-61 Wednesday night at Walton Arena.

Texas Southern is 0-7. However the Tigers had played respectably in road losses to Texas El-Paso, Northern Iowa and lost by three to a Mercer University team that has beaten SEC West teams Alabama and Auburn.

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The late Rodney Dangerfield at the zenith of his “I get no respect” routine would have gotten more respect than TSU did Wednesday.

The Hogs didn’t even need a starting top gun to lead them. Jason Henry, the freshman reserve swingman from West Memphis on disciplinary suspension the last three games, celebrated his return by leading the Hogs in scoring.

Henry scored a gamehigh and career-high 19, including a key 10 when the Hogs were putting it away at intermission.

Freshman guard Rotnei Clarke tallied 16 Razorback points and freshman forward Michael Sanchez of Springdale Har-Ber tallied 10.

Freshman point guard Courtney Fortson dished an astounding 11 assists versus a solitary turnover.

“It was Courtney Fortson’s best game,” Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said. “He made life easy for everybody. I thought Jason got a chance to show everybody what talent he has. For the last two weeks he has been practicing really well.”

Practice has been all he had, Henry said, since learning the consequences of missing class.

“Don’t miss classes,” Henry said. “That was a good lesson. I needed it. It’s been hard sitting home while the team is playing."

Henry’s teammates might escort him personally to class if he plays like he did Wednesday.

“He provides a good lift for us,” Rotnei Clarke said. “His intensity, those threes and just seeing him back on the court was a really big lift for us.”

Henry’s height as a 6-6 guard also helped Clarke, 6-feet, and Fortson, 5-11 and 6-3 guard Stefan Welsh when the tall Tigers tried posting up Arkansas’ guards.

Not only the did the Tigers, other than one brief lead, get thumped start to finish but were minus their head coach, Tony Harvey, with his second technical foul at 9:32 of the first half.

TSU assistant Rob Flaska, a familiar face in Walton Arena as a former Arkansas assistant to former Arkansas coach Stan Heath, took charge of the Tigers in Harvey’s absence.

Texas Southern took its only lead, 6-5, on Michael Drewy’s dunk at 14:56.

The Tigers already looked doomed before they scored again.

Rotnei Clarke’s trey against the zone put Arkansas up, 8-6.

Then TSU coach Harvey took his Tigers down four pegs with the first of his two technical fouls, the second leading to his automatic ejection. Clarke shot and made all four technical freebies, the first two to go up 10-6 at 14:02.

A Fortson feed for a fastbreak Sanchez dunk completed the 7-0 run for a 12-6 lead at 13:02.

Henry celebrated his return from a three-game disciplinary suspension with a trey at 12:35 and a leaping lay-in for Arkansas’ first double-digit lead, 17-7, at 12:01.

By the time TSU coach Harvey had seen enough to say that he didn’t have to watch anymore, Clarke’s second pair of technical freebies had the Hogs up and away at 29-11.

The Hogs’ lead would top 20, 40-19 at 3:27, before settling for 43-25 at intermission.

Henry’s 10 points led the first-half scoring while Fortson dished 6 assists and scored 6 with a team-leading 4 rebounds.

At 5 for 12 versus 0 for 5, Arkansas outscored TSU, 15-0 on first-half treys.

Pelphrey said the Hogs, starting final exams and off until next Wednesday’s game with North Carolina Central, still have much to work on — especially free-throw shooting (16 of 29) and allowing the Tigers to shoot nearly 50 percent (23 of 47) from the field.

However Arkansas ’ defense did create 18 turnovers while the Hogs only committed 10 and outrebounded TSU, 39-30.