Live Game Blog: Texas Southern vs. Arkansas
Arkansas 80, Texas Southern 61 (FINAL)
This wasn't even a contest from the get-go. Jason Henry had a career-high 19 points in just 20 minutes off the bench, and the Razorbacks were assist crazy in this one. Courtney Fortson finished with 11 assists and just 1 turnover on the night before fouling out with 3:13 remaining.
Arkansas took a 31-point lead late in this one before its defense kind of faltered, which didn't make coach John Pelphrey too happy.
Make sure to check out the Northwest Arkansas Times and WholeHogSports.com Thursday for Nate Allen's recap and Brandon Marcello's notes package.
The Razorbacks now have a week off to practice and study for final semester tests. They'll return to Bud Walton Arena a week from tonight.
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UPDATE (8:55 p.m.): Rotnei Clarke has hit his last three 3-pointers and Courtney Fortson has 11 assists, perhaps the best coming with 3:18 remaining with a no-look pass under the basket across his left chest to Jason Henry for a layup.
Arkansas is up 77-52, and were up by as many as 31 points in this one. Texas Southern's largest loss of the season was an 82-51 setback to Cincinatti on Nov. 18. We've got 2:37 remaining in this one.
See you after the game.
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UPDATE (8:36 p.m.): Jason Henry continues to impress in his return from a three-game suspension. He's got 17 points and the Hogs are up 62-33 with 11:51 remaining. He's also scored seven of Arkansas' last nine points. Arkansas is on an 11-3 run. There is one bad thing that should be mentioned. The Hogs have hit just 47.6 percent of their free throws (10 of 21).
Arkansas has been very forward heavy in the second half. Fortson was the only true guard in the lineup for about a five minute stretch. Shooting guard Marcus Britt is in the game with Fortson now.
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UPDATE (7:58 p.m.): Arkansas 43, Texas Southern 25 (HALFTIME)
Texas Southern started hitting some shots in the final 5 minutes after Arkansas built a 22-point lead. It's 43-25 at halftime. The highlight of the latter section of the second half came with 42 seconds remaining.
Courtney Fortson missed a 3-pointer and Jason Henry rebounded, missed a followup layup but then got a steal just seconds later. He drove through the lain, missed a runner but Fortson followed up to help him out with a put-back as he fell to the left of the basket. The bucket gave the Hogs a 43-23 lead.
Arkansas moved the ball inside and out during an eight-minute stretch but things started to bog down a bit in the final 4 minutes. The Tigers have proven that the second half is their strongest, so we'll see if they can make a few big plays early on after halftime.
Henry leads all scorers with 10 points. Michael Sanchez has 8 points and Rotnei Clarke has added 7, with four of those points coming at the free throw line.
UPDATE (7:44 p.m.): Arkansas is up 37-15 with 4:57 remaining in the first half. Jason Henry, back for the first time in three games after serving a suspension, is leading the Hogs with 10 points on a perfect 4-for-4 from the field. He's very active under the basket right now.
Arkansas is doing very well passing the ball. Arkansas has 10 assists as of right now. Oh, and Texas Southern's coach, Tony Harvey, was ejected after a second technical foul with 9:31 remaining.
There's 4:57 remaining in the first half. The Hogs have hit 13 of 23 shots to start the night.
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The teams have picked up the pace early in this one. Arkansas is up 25-11 after a Marcus Britt 3-pointer.
Arkansas has hit 5-of-7 three-pointers against Texas Southern's zone defense. The Hogs are also having success in the paint.
Arkansas' guards have found big man Michael Sanchez in the paint for a dunk or easy layup three times. There have been some nifty passes from guards Courtney Fortson, Rotnei Clarke and Courtney Fortson early in this one. Fortson and Welsh each have three assists.
The Hogs have hit five of their last six shots.
There's 10 minutes remaining in this one.
– Brandon Marcello
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