Spring Break
Turnovers turn back Hogs
Second half surge by Weems not enough to save the day
Bart Pohlman
Issue date: 1/18/08 Section: Sports
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Weems scored a career-high 28 points, but it was not enough, as Arkansas fell 70-66 to South Carolina Wednesday night at Bud Walton Arena.
Devan Downey scored 28 points of his own to lead the Gamecocks, who took advantage of a turnover barrage by the Razorbacks.
Arkansas (13-4, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) out-rebounded South Carolina 40-24. The Razorbacks shot 47 percent from the field, as opposed to 43 percent shooting by the Gamecocks. Arkansas even had a 15-11 assist advantage.
But turnovers negated all of that.
South Carolina (9-8, 1-2 SEC) turned 19 Arkansas turnovers into 20 points, and Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said he was not pleased with such a high number of miscues.
"Nineteen is too many," Pelphrey said. "There are some turnovers that are better than others, believe it or not. The ones that lead to baskets that you don't have a chance to defend kill you."
Despite the turnovers, Arkansas still had a chance to win, thanks in large part to the performance of Weems.
After trailing 33-32 at halftime, the Razorbacks came out strong to start the second half.
Weems scored eight straight points, and Arkansas grabbed a 40-37 lead.
But the lead was short lived.
South Carolina responded with a 14-4 run to take a 54-46 lead, the Gamecocks' largest of the night.
The Razorbacks tried to come back, feeding off the large midweek crowd and using a 9-2 run to tie the game at 58, but it wasn't enough.
The Gamecocks connected on 8-of-9 free throws in the last five minutes to seal the game.
Weems did everything he could to save the Hogs, but his 21 second-half points were to no avail.
Senior center Steven Hill said Weems carried the team throughout the game.
"He's playing well on both sides of the ball, and hopefully he can keep that up," Hill said. "He's strung together several games in a row of good play."
Hill also had a good game for the Razorbacks, scoring 15 points, one off his career-high.
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