Down 43-28 at halftime of their game in Arkansas on Wednesday, the Mississippi State Bulldogs entered the second half feeling rejuvenated. They came out of the locker room and scored eight unanswered points to begin the second half, a run which was punctuated by a 3-pointer from Phil Turner.That’s when first-year Arkansas head coach John Pelphrey called a timeout to settle his squad down and to rile the team’s fans up.
Both tactics seemed to work for the Razorbacks as they reeled off a 12-6 run to give themselves a comfortable 13-point lead. The Razorbacks (15-5, 4-2 SEC) didn’t look back from that point and ended with a 78-58 victory over the Bulldogs (14-6, 5-1 SEC), ending Mississippi State’s nine-game winning streak and putting the first blemish on its previously spotless conference record.
Arkansas guard Sonny Weems scored a team-high 22 points and wreaked havoc from behind the 3-point line, where he went 5 of 10.
“I don’t know that you can defend Weems when he plays like that,” Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury said in a post-game radio show. “No matter who we put on him, we had trouble defending him.”
Weems was joined in the Arkansas scoring statistic by sophomore Patrick Beverley, who tallied 19 points. Beverley also led his team by collecting 10 rebounds in the contest, which turned out to be a key factor. The Razorbacks gathered more offensive rebounds than did the Bulldogs, and it allowed them to have several second-chance opportunities.
Stansbury said that was one of the crucial factors in deciding the game.
“They beat us at both ends and made it very difficult for us to score consistently,” he said. “They beat us on those backboards all night long and hurt us with put-backs.”
Turnovers also allowed the Razorbacks to partake in more shots than the visiting Bulldogs. Mississippi State gave the ball away 22 times during the game, and Arkansas capitalized many times with points off those turnovers in the form of layups.
“Anytime you go on the road and have 22 turnovers, it’s difficult to beat anybody,” Stansbury said.
All-America candidate Jamont Gordon led the way with a game-high 24 points on 8-of-16 from the field, and Charles Rhodes had a solid performance with 11 points and 15 rebounds.
Stansbury said it is important for the team not to dwell on this loss and to bounce back for the next game against the Tennessee Volunteers.
“This one is done and over,” Stansbury said. “We have to put it behind us. All that matters is the next one.”
The Bulldogs now have their sights set on the No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers (18-2, 5-1 SEC), who will visit Starkville on Saturday for a 6 p.m. tipoff. Tennessee’s only losses came in a home loss to the Texas Longhorns early in the season and a 72-66 setback to Kentucky.
They are coming off a 93-86 Tuesday win over the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa. In the game they were led by senior guard Chris Lofton, who scored 23 points.
The game will pit offense versus defense, as Tennessee comes in with the best scoring attack in the SEC and will face-off with a Mississippi State squad who is near the top of the SEC in scoring defense. Stansbury said he knows Tennessee is a talented team and expects a hard-fought contest.
“As talented as Arkansas was, there’s no question Tennessee is the most talented team in the SEC,” he said. “We’ll have our work cut out for us.