After sitting on the sidelines with foul trouble in Saturday’s win over Ole Miss, Mario Austin committed just one foul in Wednesday night’s battle against the Arkansas Razorbacks, scored 30 points, snagged 13 rebounds, and sent 2 shots back at the Hogs in 37 minutes. Austin, the sophomore center, flirted with perfection as he sank 10 of 12 shots from the field and 10 of 12 free throws as he posted his 6th double-double of the season. He said he was determined to make a statement in the rematch and added, “This is probably the best that I have ever played.”
The Bulldogs triumphed over the Razorbacks 89-83 on Senior Night to collect their 22nd win of the season, and conclude the season at Humphrey Coliseum with a stellar 13-1 home record.
MSU head coach Rick Stansbury said, “I am extra proud that we sent our seniors out on a winning note. Sometimes we don’t win easily, but we find a way.”
Arkansas head coach Nolan Richardson on Tuesday made comments that expressed personal feelings of being disrespected by fans and media. Richardson, one of 11 active head coaches to win an NCAA title, also said that if U of A officials wanted him to leave, they could buy-out his contract. A rumor that Richardson’s contract would be bought out for $3 million invaded the Arkansas locker room prior to Wednesday’s skirmish in Starkville. Sources said that Richardson and players shed tears in the locker room prior to the tip-off.
Arkansas was lead in scoring by guard Jannero Pargo who made seven threes en route to his game total of 35. Brandon Dean added 18 and guard Teddy Gipson posted 12, but only nine of their combined 30 came in the second session.
Senior guard Marckell Patterson scored 21 in his home finale. Three of that total came on a crucial three-point play with just 1:10 remaining. The driving lay-up and accompanying foul shot gave State an 81-77 lead, and the Dogs never looked back.
Patterson said, “I feel like the key to the game was us holding them to just a few second-chance shots. We knew that they would play hard, but I feel like we matched their intensity.”
Patterson was correct. The ‘Dawgs snagged 46 boards from the sky, while the Hogs only grabbed 21. Just five of those 21 were on the offensive end. MSU senior forward Michael Gholar got six of his nine rebounds in the second half. Stansbury said the rebounding edge made a huge difference and called Gholar a warrior in the final 8 minutes of his home career. He added, “I don’t know that we would have won without the play of Gholar down the stretch.”
Zimmerman scored 11, thanks to going 9-11 from the charity stripe.
Zimmerman said, “The secret is that I’ve been getting up early in the morning and shooting free throws with coach Jones, so it has paid off for me.”
The first time these two teams met turnovers and missed free throws quelled State’s effort to leave Fayetteville victoriously. State committed just four turnovers in the second session of Wednesday’s contest and made 32 of 45 free throws. Continuing these two facets of the game will help MSU at South Carolina Saturday, in the Southeastern Conference Tournament next week, and in an NCAA Tournament appearance.
“This (senior night) is something I will remember the rest of my life. I have always loved playing in front of the home crowd,” Patterson said.
“We are playing as well as anyone in the league right now. We will only worry about what we can control, and play between the lines. We are now trying to play for position in the (NCAA) tournament,” Stansbury said.
Arkansas, on the other hand, has now lost 10 of their last 13. Richardson said that he was just as unhappy about losing as anyone. He stressed that his comments Tuesday were not meant to attack the biggest part of Razorback fans or the media. He added that his community efforts have often been overlooked.
Richardson finished his 17-minute post game conference with: “Maybe I don’t want to be here. I don’t know. No one has talked to me (about the contract buy-out), but where there is smoke, there is fire.”
The final game of the season at South Carolina is Saturday.