Razorbacks drop seventh straight
Matt Jones
Issue date: 2/23/09 Section: Sports
Another game equaled another heartache for the Arkansas Razorbacks Saturday night.
Despite a career-high 27 points and 12 rebounds from freshman Jason Henry, Arkansas couldn't get its first Southeastern Conference road win, falling 82-78 to South Carolina in overtime.
"There's going to come a point and time where we start walking out of the arena and people will be proud of these kids for winning basketball games," Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said. "I'm tired of people telling us how hard we play because we lost. It's not going to be much longer."
The loss was the seventh straight for the Razorbacks, the longest such streak in 37 years.
Arkansas (13-12, 1-11 SEC) led only briefly in overtime on a Rotnei Clarke basket to start the extra frame.
South Carolina hit its final six free throws in overtime, but the Razorbacks still had a chance in the waning moments.
With the Gamecocks leading 80-77, Henry stepped to the line for a 1-and-1. The West Helena native made the front end to cut the lead to two. He intentionally missed his second free throw and made the rebound, but it was waived off because he crossed the free throw line before the ball hit the rim.
Like several other times in the losing streak, rebounding in critical moments eluded the young team.
"It was like a couple other games we've had," said Pelphrey, whose team actually out-rebounded the Gamecocks by 17. "Inside of two minutes, there have been some offensive rebounds that we've given up that just kill us. First shots didn't hurt us tonight. Second shots did. And that's disappointing."
After struggling out of the gates in the second half, Arkansas used an 11-0 run to take a 44-41 lead with 13 minutes left.
Clarke led the surge, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers on his way to scoring 16 points.
The two teams battled back-and-forth for the remainder of regulation, with neither team leading by more than five points in a game that featured 11 ties and eight lead changes.
Freshman point guard Courtney Fortson's runner late in regulation wouldn't go for Arkansas, and South Carolina superstar Devan Downey's 3-pointer at the buzzer met the same fate.
Downey, who finished with a team-high 25 points, said Arkansas' resiliency doesn't match its results.
"Arkansas is a good team," Downey said. "Their record might not show it. But that's a real good team."
Pelphrey said the team isn't into moral victories, but was proud of the way it competes.
"I hurt for our kids," Pelphrey said. "As a coach I wish there was something I could do about it. Bottom line, though, we aren't making any excuses. We are where we are because of us. When these young men decide enough is enough, we'll start getting through those [tough] situations.
"We're going to overcome this, and the Razorbacks are going to rise again."
Despite a career-high 27 points and 12 rebounds from freshman Jason Henry, Arkansas couldn't get its first Southeastern Conference road win, falling 82-78 to South Carolina in overtime.
"There's going to come a point and time where we start walking out of the arena and people will be proud of these kids for winning basketball games," Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said. "I'm tired of people telling us how hard we play because we lost. It's not going to be much longer."
The loss was the seventh straight for the Razorbacks, the longest such streak in 37 years.
Arkansas (13-12, 1-11 SEC) led only briefly in overtime on a Rotnei Clarke basket to start the extra frame.
South Carolina hit its final six free throws in overtime, but the Razorbacks still had a chance in the waning moments.
With the Gamecocks leading 80-77, Henry stepped to the line for a 1-and-1. The West Helena native made the front end to cut the lead to two. He intentionally missed his second free throw and made the rebound, but it was waived off because he crossed the free throw line before the ball hit the rim.
Like several other times in the losing streak, rebounding in critical moments eluded the young team.
"It was like a couple other games we've had," said Pelphrey, whose team actually out-rebounded the Gamecocks by 17. "Inside of two minutes, there have been some offensive rebounds that we've given up that just kill us. First shots didn't hurt us tonight. Second shots did. And that's disappointing."
After struggling out of the gates in the second half, Arkansas used an 11-0 run to take a 44-41 lead with 13 minutes left.
Clarke led the surge, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers on his way to scoring 16 points.
The two teams battled back-and-forth for the remainder of regulation, with neither team leading by more than five points in a game that featured 11 ties and eight lead changes.
Freshman point guard Courtney Fortson's runner late in regulation wouldn't go for Arkansas, and South Carolina superstar Devan Downey's 3-pointer at the buzzer met the same fate.
Downey, who finished with a team-high 25 points, said Arkansas' resiliency doesn't match its results.
"Arkansas is a good team," Downey said. "Their record might not show it. But that's a real good team."
Pelphrey said the team isn't into moral victories, but was proud of the way it competes.
"I hurt for our kids," Pelphrey said. "As a coach I wish there was something I could do about it. Bottom line, though, we aren't making any excuses. We are where we are because of us. When these young men decide enough is enough, we'll start getting through those [tough] situations.
"We're going to overcome this, and the Razorbacks are going to rise again."
Be the first to comment on this story