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Florida stinks it up from outside Sunday, Feb 3, 2008 By Harry King FAYETTEVILLE - Ten minutes without a turnover for Arkansas; 20 minutes without a 3 for Florida, and a one-minute spot for Bobby Petrino. For the Razorbacks, it was perfection of the T - turnovers, threes, and timing. Before Arkansas suffered a turnover - albeit a hustle one instead of a careless something or other - the lead was 11 over No. 20 Florida. For the second straight game, the team that turned it over regularly in two conference losses, didn't make many while it mattered, disdaining the Gators' press. Meanwhile, the Gators were perfect in a perverse way, missing all 10 of their 3s in the first half while falling behind 46-21. The third-best 3-point shooting team in the Southeastern Conference was so bad that the Gators would have had to begin the second half with six in a row just to threaten their season-long percentage of 38.5. And, they were unselfish about their failure. Nick Calathes, the highly touted freshman who had hit 45 percent of his 3s against five previous SEC opponents, missed both of his in the first half and looked like somebody who has yet to turn 19. Dan Werner missed all three of his attempts, probably a hangover from his inquisitive looks at the inflatable Boss Hog during the pregame. Four other players joined the oh-fer club. Walter Hodge, Adam Allen and Chandler Parsons bumped the fruitless streak to a baker's dozen before Hodge made one with 11:23 to play. A cynic would offer that "narrowed" the lead to 62-35. The timing thing was a bonus, a predetermined decision to introduce new Razorback football coach Bobby Petrino during the second timeout that couldn't have worked out better. It just happened that the Razorbacks were on a roll at the time. Florida had just missed a 3 - surprise, surprise - and Sonny Weems had showed the Gators how at the other end for 13-8. Weems again, with another assist by Gary Ervin, and then an Ervin steal and a layup for 17-8. Timeout. Petrino walked out to the red hog painted on the floor and did a slow 360, acknowledging the standing crowd with a right-hand wave. Before exiting, he got into the Hog call, punctuating the first Sooiee with a right jab. The Razorbacks' first turnover was one of those effort things, a lesson-learned Charles Thomas working hard to put back a rebound. Eventually, he was called for steps and a kneeling John Pelphrey appreciated the effort with applause. Thomas, suspended for the mid-week Mississippi State game by Pelphrey, had four rebounds, eight points, and four assists in 21 minutes. His only block came at the end of a wild scramble sequence and kept the score at 51-27. The Gators were so woeful that they couldn't even work the clock for the final shot of the half and Ervin's layup upped the lead to 25 with one second left. At the half, Arkansas was 19-of-33 from the field and Florida was 8-of-28. The Razorbacks were so dominant that the Gators did not even hint at a second-half run, unless you count reducing the lead to 21 a couple of times. So often a turnover waiting to happen, Ervin was superb with 15 points, six assists and a lonely turnover in 27 minutes. Red-hot in five previous SEC games, Calathes was at the opposite end of the spectrum, making only 3-of-12 shots. Twice in the first half, he missed from point-blank. Once, he was lazy on a breakaway and a chasing Weems swatted it away. Moments later, he lost the ball in a double team and the frustration showed on his face. Pelphrey was more animated than any of the players and, more than once during a timeout, he went looking for an official to argue a point. Pelphrey was a player when Florida coach Billy Donovan was an assistant at Kentucky and then an assistant to Donovan at Marshall and less than a minute prior to the introductions, Pelphrey crossed midcourt and made a beeline for Donovan. Their handshake dissolved into a hug. At the end, they met again and exchanged confidences. When it was over, I headed back to Little Rock knowing that Arkansas was squarely in the Western Division race at 5-2 no matter what division-leading Mississippi State did against Tennessee two hours later. Turns out the Vols held off the Bulldogs 75-71 and the Razorbacks are now co-leaders in the SEC West. ---- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
