Hogs Keep Hopes Alive By Razor-Thin Margin
The Arkansas Razorbacks’ hopes for a second consecutive NCAA Tournament title were almost killed by a team they beat by 66 points last year.
Corliss Williamson of the Razorbacks hit two free throws with 26.9 seconds left Friday and Texas Southern’s Randy Bolden missed a game-tying free throw with 6.1 seconds to go as the Hogs escaped with a 79-78 victory in a Midwest regional first-round game.
“They had an opportunity to win the game and you have to give them credit after they were humiliated a year ago,” said Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson. “We were fortunate and lucky to come away with a win.”
Bolden, Texas Southern’s best free-throw shooter at 80 percent, was fouled by Williamson from beyond the 3-point arc. Bolden hit the first two, but his third free throw hit the front of the rim and bounced away.
“We just couldn’t put them away,” said Arkansas guard Scotty Thurman.
Arkansas looked like it was going to run away with the game in the first half on the 3-point shooting of reserve Dwight Stewart. The 6-foot-9, 270-pound center hit his seventh 3-pointer with 7:30 to play for a 73-65 Arkansas lead, but Texas Southern refused to fold.
Arkansas 79, Texas Southern 78
TEXAS SOUTHERN (22-7)
Jones 6-12 0-0 16, Whittaker 8-12 5-7 21, Warren 1-3 0-2 2, Granger 6-14 2-3 14, Adams 4-13 1-4 13, Ray 0-2 4-4 4, Bolden 2-4 3-4 8, Brotherton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-60 15-24 78.
ARKANSAS (28-6)
Williamson 7-11 5-7 19, Thurman 4-10 0-0 11, Robinson 1-5 2-4 4, Beck 2-5 2-4 8, McDaniel 3-9 1-1 8, Rimac 1-2 0-0 2, Garrett 2-3 0-0 4, Wilson 0-0 0-1 0, Stewart 7-10 0-0 21, Dillard 0-4 0-0 0, Martin 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 28-60 10-17 79.
Halftime-Arkansas 46, Texas Southern 35. 3-Point goals-Texas Southern 9-25 (Jones 4-7, Adams 4-9, Bolden 1-3, Whittaker 0-2, Granger 0-4), Arkansas 13-33 (Stewart 7-10, Thurman 3-9, Beck 2-2, McDaniel 1-5, Garrett 0-1, Rimac 0-1, Robinson 0-2, Dillard 0-3). Fouled out-Williamson. Rebounds-Texas Southern 40 (Jones 10), Arkansas 32 (Williamson, Robinson 6). Assists-Texas Southern 15 (Adams 7), Arkansas 13 (Garrett, Dillard 3). Total fouls-Texas Southern 18, Arkansas 23. A-15,375.
Syracuse 96, S.Illinois 92
The inside-outside attack of John Wallace and Lucious Jackson helped the Orangemen (20-9) withstand a 3-point barrage and defeat the Salukis (23-9).
Syracuse hit six straight free throws in the final 17.6 seconds to fend off a rally by Southern Illinois, which got two 3s from Chris Carr in the final 12 seconds.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (23-9)
Timmons 4-7 0-4 9, Carr 10-16 4-5 26, Stewart 2-2 0-0 6, Lusk 7-10 1-1 17, Hawkins 7-8 0-0 21, Timberlake 0-1 0-0 0, Tucker 4-7 0-0 8, Veach 0-0 0-0 0, Burzynski 2-4 0-0 5. Totals 36-55 5-10 92.
SYRACUSE (20-9)
Wallace 10-15 4-5 24, Jackson 7-9 2-2 22, Hill 8-9 1-2 17, Lloyd 5-7 0-2 10, Moten 6-11 6-6 19, Sims 1-2 0-0 2, Burgan 0-0 0-0 0, Reafsnyder 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 38-56 13-17 96.
Halftime-Syracuse 48, S. Illinois 46. 3-Point goals-S. Illinois 15-23 (Hawkins 7-8, Stewart 2-2, Lusk 2-3, Carr 2-4, Timmons 1-2, Burzynski 1-3, Tucker 0-1), Syracuse 7-13 (Jackson 6-8, Moten 1-3, Lloyd 0-1, Sims 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-S. Illinois 21 (Timmons 7), Syracuse 22 (Wallace 6). Assists-S. Illinois 16 (Timmons 8), Syracuse 30 (Lloyd 14). Total fouls-S. Illinois 17, Syracuse 13. A-NA.
Memphis 77, Louisville 56
Lorenzen Wright and David Vaughn dominated inside as the Tigers pulled away from the Cardinals in the second half. Wright scored 16 points and had six rebounds. Vaughn added 14 points and nine boards.The former Metro Conference rivals had not met since 1991, the year Memphis left the league and joined the Great Midwest Conference.
LOUISVILLE (19-14)
Kiser 3-8 0-0 9, Osborne 1-8 2-2 5, Walker 3-9 0-0 6, Wheat 10-19 2-3 28, Rogers 0-2 1-2 1, E.Johnson 1-4 0-0 2, Sims 0-1 1-2 1, B.Smith 1-2 0-0 2, Dantzler 0-3 0-0 0, Flynn 0-1 0-0 0, Farmer 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 20-58 6-9 56.
MEMPHIS (23-9)
Henderson 2-6 4-5 8, Wilson 5-6 1-3 11, Wright 7-9 2-3 16, M.Johnson 1-6 4-6 6, Garner 4-4 3-5 11, Wimmer 2-4 0-0 5, Vaughn 5-12 4-5 14, Mitchell 1-2 0-0 3, Newsome 1-5 0-0 3, Fox 0-0 0-0 0, J.Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Forrest 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-54 18-27 77.
Halftime-Memphis 38, Louisville 29. 3-Point goals-Louisville 10-31 (Wheat 6-10, Kiser 3-7, Osborne 1-6, Flynn 0-1, E.Johnson 0-1, Sims 0-1, Rogers 0-2, Dantzler 0-3), Memphis 3-13 (Mitchell 1-2, Wimmer 1-2, Newsome 1-3, Henderson 0-1, Vaughn 0-1, M.Johnson 0-4). Fouled out-Kiser. Rebounds-Louisville 30 (Walker, Wheat 6), Memphis 38 (Vaughn 9). Assists-Louisville 9 (Osborne, Walker 2), Memphis 10 (M.Johnson 4). Total fouls-Louisville 20, Memphis 13. A-15,375.
Purdue 49, Wisc.-Green Bay 48
Cuonzo Martin hit two free throws with 35.2 seconds left and the Boilermakers escaped with the win. UWGB had a chance to win at the end, but Eric Jackson missed a 20-foot jumper as the final buzzer sounded.
WIS-GREEN BAY (22-8)
Grzesk 1-1 0-0 2, Nordgaard 6-13 0-1 12, Westlake 5-10 0-0 12, Jackson 3-6 2-2 9, Berlowski 3-9 5-5 13, Olm 0-0 0-0 0, Maddox 0-0 0-0 0, Wade 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-40 7-8 48.
PURDUE (25-6)
Jennings 1-1 0-0 2, Martin 7-16 3-5 19, Miller 2-2 2-3 6, Waddell 3-6 1-2 9, Roberts 0-3 0-0 0, Harriston 1-2 0-0 2, Austin 1-3 0-0 2, Foster 1-4 0-0 3, Brantley 1-3 2-2 4, Dove 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 18-42 8-12 49.
Halftime-Wis.-Green Basy 30, Purdue 28. 3-Point goals-Wis.-Green Bay 5-11 (Berlowski 2-4, Westlake 2-5, Jackson 1-2), Purdue 5-11 (Waddell 2-2, Martin 2-5, Foster 1-4). Fouled out-Grzesk. Rebounds-Wis.-Green Bay 22 (Nordgaard 7), Purdue 27 (Miller 9). Assists-Wis.-Green Bay 11 (Grzesk 3), Purdue 4 (Miller, Waddell, Austin, Foster). Total Fouls-Wis.-Green Bay 14, Purdue 12. Technical-Purdue bench. A-15,375
xxxx Midwest Regional Friday’s games Syracuse 96, Southern Illinois 92 Arkansas 79, Texas Southern 78 Memphis 77, Louisville 56 Purdue 49, Wisconsin-Green Bay 48 Today’s games Miami (Ohio) University (23-6) vs. Virginia (23-8) Kansas (24-5) vs. Western Kentucky (27-3)