Hogs Hold Serve Again At Home
By: UA Sports Information
Updated: February 2, 2013
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -
Sophomore BJ Young led the University of Arkansas basketball team with 25 points
as the Razorbacks defeated the Tennessee Volunteers, 73-60, on Saturday
afternoon at Bud Walton Arena.
Arkansas (13-8, 4-4 SEC) had three scorers
in double digits including Young, Hunter Mickelson, who tallied 10 points and a
career high four steals, and Marshawn Powell, who added 12 points. Tennessee
(11-9, 3-5) was led by Jarnell Stokes with 16 points. The Arkansas defense
forced 20 turnovers for the seventh time this
season.
"It was great to see us score points," head
coach Mike Anderson said. "I have got to give it to our effort on defense. We
had Tennessee on their heels. BJ and Hunter were the most focused they have been
in a while."
The game started with a fast pace as both
teams were looking to push the basketball. Arkansas had seven different players
score its first nine baskets. The Razorbacks also scored 14 of its first 19
points in the paint. Tennessee had seven turnovers in the first eight minutes,
but was able to take an 18-17 lead at the 7:19 mark of the first half.
The Bud Walton Arena crowd then welcomed new
head football coach Bret Bielema onto the floor. It seemed as though the pep
talk from the new coach would boost the fans as the Razorbacks went on an
18-to-7 run to close out the first half. The Arkansas defense forced 12 first
half turnovers and scored 16 points off of those turnovers. Young led the team
with 12 first half points on 4-of-6 shooting. Arkansas led Tennessee 35-25 at
the break.
The favorable pace continued in the second
half as the Arkansas defense forced four turnovers in the Volunteers' first four
possessions. The Hogs came out of the locker room on a 6-0 run, with three
assists on three baskets. Tennessee countered with a 12-6 run of its own as the
Arkansas defense became sluggish. This led to a Mike Anderson timeout with 12:24
remaining in the game.
The pace slowed and Tennessee started to claw its way back into the game, cutting the lead to 49-40 with ten minutes left. After the teams exchanged baskets, Powell was fouled and went to the line for two free throws at the 8:44 mark. He would split the pair but Michael Qualls, in his first start as a Razorback, was able to gather the offensive rebound and slam a dunk home that ignited the crowd.
The pace slowed and Tennessee started to claw its way back into the game, cutting the lead to 49-40 with ten minutes left. After the teams exchanged baskets, Powell was fouled and went to the line for two free throws at the 8:44 mark. He would split the pair but Michael Qualls, in his first start as a Razorback, was able to gather the offensive rebound and slam a dunk home that ignited the crowd.
"Qualls going in to the lineup injected
energy," Anderson said. "The energy was contagious. He is a guy that can
benefit our team with offensive rebounds. He plays the game the right
way."
The Volunteers again showed resilience,
quieting the crowd with a 5- 0 run, making the score 54-46 with 7:13 left. After
the media timeout Powell scored on a post-up play and the lead was pushed back
to double digits. From there, the teams exchanged baskets and the lead hovered
around ten points for the next four minutes.
Tennessee cut the lead to 65-58 with 1:47
left to play but the Arkansas offense got back on track as Young stroked a
jumper from the top of the key on the next possession to put the game out of
reach. Arkansas defeated Tennessee 73-60 to win its fourth SEC game of the year.
The Razorbacks will host Florida on Tuesday,
Feb. 5, at 6 p.m. in Bud Walton Arena and the game will be televised on
ESPN.
