Monday, February 26, 2001
Arkansas 82, Kentucky 78
The Associated Press
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — For a couple of minutes, Arkansas looked like a team trying not to lose.
Leading No. 13 Kentucky by four, the Razorbacks twice worked the shot clock before Brandon Dean missed badly.
On the next possession, Arkansas was in no danger on the shot clock when Jannero Pargo fired from the top of the key.
“I was yelling don't shoot,” said Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson. “I didn't want it. Then I yelled, 'Good shot.' That one there was the dagger.”
Pargo's 3 with 1:21 to play gave Arkansas (17-9, 8-6 SEC) a 79-72 lead and Arkansas held the Wildcats scoreless for nearly three minutes down the stretch for an 82-78 victory Sunday.
Saul Smith ended the Wildcats' scoring drought with a tough jumper from the baseline, but Pargo added two more free throws for an eight-point advantage with 39.7 seconds to play.
Kentucky (18-8, 11-3 SEC) led by eight points early in the second half. But the Wildcats shot poorly the rest of the way and had their eight-game winning streak stopped.
Richardson said making Kentucky play defense for 30 seconds or so at a time took the spring out of the Wildcats on offense.
“You could see guys reaching for their shorts and that's a tell-tale sign,” he said.
“We ran them and ran them in the second half,” said Arkansas' Charles Tatum. “We took away their legs.”
Tayshaun Prince opened the second half with a baby hook that put Kentucky ahead 49-41. The Wildcats, the best-shooting team in the SEC, made only 12-of-40 the rest of the half. Prince missed his final six shots.
“If we would have been shooting well, we would have won the game,” said Kentucky coach Tubby Smith.
Keith Bogans, who had 17 points in the first half, missed all six of his shots in the second half and still led the Wildcats in scoring. “He was the topic of our conversation at halftime,” Richardson said. “We tried to get to him and double him up, and make him get rid of the ball.”
Arkansas shot almost 47 percent in the second half against the most effective defense in the SEC. The Razorbacks' production included 10-of-21 from 3-point range, including at least one by a half-dozen players.
“We can't seem to get our guys up on people and get the pressure on,” Tubby Smith said. “I think that was one of our problems in the second half.”
Arkansas led 76-72 with 4:02 to play and it stayed that way until Pargo's 3. Kentucky followed each of Dean's late misses with two misfires of its own.
Teddy Gipson gave Arkansas its first lead in more than 17 minutes when he started from the corner, drove hard into the lane and stopped suddenly for a 6-footer and a 61-60 edge.
Joe Johnson led Arkansas with 18 points and Pargo had 16.
Prince's two free throws narrowed the lead to 71-68, but Dean drove into the lane and flipped a pass outside to Gipson who beat the shot clock with a 3.
After a technical foul, Pargo made two free throws for a 33-32 lead.
Former Alabama coach David Hobbs got the technical and seconds later said to his boss, “My fault.”
Johnson got too fancy and his mistake led to Bogans' three-point play that put the Wildcats back in front 35-34. Tatum tied it for the seventh time with a 3.
Kentucky led 47-41 at halftime. Arkansas made two of its last nine shots in the half while the Wildcats were 6-of-13.
KENTUCKY (78)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Fitch 19 2-6 2-2 3-8 0 2 7
Smith 28 2-7 0-0 0-0 3 3 4
Parker 10 0-5 1-2 2-4 0 2 1
Bogans 36 5-15 4-4 1-2 3 2 17
Prince 34 5-15 4-4 3-10 1 3 14
Stone 13 3-6 0-0 3-5 0 3 6
Hawkins 14 4-7 0-0 2-3 2 4 8
Daniels 18 4-8 3-7 2-5 1 1 11
Blevins 11 1-1 2-2 1-1 1 0 4
Estill 17 3-5 0-0 4-9 0 2 6
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 29-75 16-21 21-47 11 22 78
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.387, FT-.762. 3-Point Goals:
4-19, .211 (Fitch 1-2, Smith 0-5, Bogans 3-5,
Prince 0-6, Daniels 0-1). Team rebounds: 5.
Blocked shots: 5 (Prince 2, Bogans, Smith,
Estill). Turnovers: 13 (Bogans 4, Prince 3,
Blevins, Daniels, Fitch, Hawkins, Parker, Smith).
Steals: 7 (Fitch 2, Bogans, Estill, Hawkins,
Smith, Stone).
ARKANSAS (82)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Johnson 29 7-13 3-4 1-11 0 1 18
Baker 16 2-4 0-0 1-3 1 3 5
Satchell 23 1-5 0-0 1-4 0 0 2
Gipson 14 3-5 0-0 1-4 1 1 7
Dean 27 2-9 5-7 1-2 7 3 10
Pargo 29 4-9 5-6 0-1 2 2 16
Cleveland 26 2-5 3-6 2-3 2 0 7
Gomez 2 0-1 0-0 1-1 0 0 0
Eddins 3 0-3 0-0 1-1 1 1 0
Lane 17 4-6 0-1 1-2 0 4 8
Tatum 14 3-4 0-0 0-1 0 2 9
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 28-64 16-24 10-33 14 17 82
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.438, FT-.667. 3-Point Goals:
10-21, .476 (Johnson 1-2, Baker 1-1, Gipson 1-3,
Dean 1-3, Pargo 3-6, Eddins 0-2, Tatum 3-4). Team
rebounds: 4. Blocked shots: 5 (Satchell 3,
Cleveland, Lane). Turnovers: 12 (Cleveland 4,
Pargo 2, Satchell 2, Dean, Gipson, Gomez,
Johnson). Steals: 5 (Cleveland, Gipson, Pargo,
Satchell, Tatum).
__________________________________
Kentucky 47 31 - 78
Arkansas 41 41 - 82
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None. A: 20,266. Officials:
Curtis Shaw, Gene Monje, Orlandis Poole.
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Arkansas 82, Kentucky 78
