Hoop Hogs End Regular Season With Win Over A&M
By: Arkansas Media Services
Updated: March 9, 2013
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A total of five University of Arkansas players finished in double-digits as the Razorback men's basketball team handled the Texas A&M Aggies, 73-62, at Bud Walton Arena on Saturday afternoon. With the win the Razorbacks close the regular season with a 17-1 record at "The Basketball Palace of Mid-America," tying the school record of 17 wins at home set last season and becoming the first Arkansas team since 1998 to finish the year undefeated in Southeastern Conference play (9-0).
"It's a
step in the right direction," head coach Mike Anderson said. "We have to take
care of games at home. That's how you compete for championships. You can see we
have more guys now stepping up and playing quality minutes, and it's good to see
that."
Sophomore Mardracus Wade (14), junior Coty
Clarke (13), sophomore Rashad Madden (11), freshman Anthlon Bell (10) and junior
Marshawn Powell (10) all finished the day in double digits helping Arkansas to
the victory over the Aggies. The Razorbacks out-rebounded the Texas A&M,
31-24, and forced 23 Aggie turnovers for their second-highest turnover total on
the season. The Razorback bench also stepped up big, contributing to over half
of Arkansas 73 points with 39.
"It was a game that was our tempo for a
while," Anderson said. "They cut our lead, but I can't say enough about how our
guys stepped up defensively and made plays. It was a good performance by our
team."
The
Razorbacks got things started quickly with Wade draining a three-pointer for the
first points of the game. Wade would step up in a big way again, sinking another
three to put the Razorbacks up 8-4 for a little cushion. On the ensuing play it
was Qualls who laid down a crowd-electrifying dunk off a pass from Wade to take
a 10-4 lead. Arkansas would rack up as much as an 18-point lead over the Aggies,
but Texas A&M had some fight left in them, going on an 8-0 run with 2:35
remaining in the first as Arkansas experienced some cold shooting. The Aggies
would close the gap to seven at the half, 33-26.
The Arkansas defense forced 12 turnovers
that resulted in 10 Razorback points. Arkansas also picked up seven steals and
three blocks in the opening 20 minutes. The Razorback bench had a big first
half accounting for 19 of Arkansas' 33 points. The bench was led by Bell who
went 3-for-4 from the field for eight points. Clarke ended the first with a
team-high five boards.
The Aggies continued to chip into the
Razorback lead, coming within four (41-37) after a break-away dunk. Arkansas
would then kick things into high gear putting together a 10-0 run in just 2:08
to put the score at 53-39 with 10:18 remaining. Arkansas would keep the Aggies
at bay as they stayed up for good from that point, only allowing Texas A&M
to come within six points and totaling as much as a 16-point lead during the
final 10 minutes of play. Arkansas closed out the game up 73-62.
Arkansas
hits the road for the SEC Tournament where they will play on Thursday, Mar.
14th. Official
match ups and game times for the Tournament will be announced late Saturday
after all league games have been completed.
