Communication Key To Victory For Razorbacks In Final Exhibition Game

Begging his players to talk isn't something Arkansas coach John Pelphrey usually finds himself doing. In fact, Pelphrey said he's usually asking them not to talk so much.

But at halftime of Thursday's exhibition game with LeMoyne-Owen the Razorbacks were clinging to a two-point lead and Pelphrey didn't just want to see more from his team; he wanted to hear more from them.

Silence on the court, especially in defensive situations was leaving players lost and the Magicians were making them pay. So Pelphrey let his players hear it at halftime.

"Talking is really important. They do it all the time. Except on defense," Pelphrey said. "These guys never shut up until they're on defense. Then they get quiet. It's ironic."

Arkansas players got more vocal in the second half. And they seemed to be much more motivated on the floor in pulling away for a 102-69 victory after what was a too-close-for-comfort game over the first 20 minutes.

Whether it was more talking on defense - or a stern talking to by their coach at intermission - the Razorbacks looked and sounded much different in the second half. They used a 23-6 run to pull away.

That run was aided by good defense. Arkansas forced the Magicians into 21.4 percent shooting n the second half. LeMoyne-Owen turned the ball over 21 times, including 11 after halftime.

Things turned out fine for the Razorbacks. Arkansas hit 100 points on an alley-oop dunk by Marshawn Powell off a pass from Julysses Nobles with 1:42 left. Powell finished with 18 points after missing the last exhibition with the flu.

It became clear Arkansas was going to take control with 14:09 left. Rotnei Clarke hustled down the floor and wound up completing a three-point play that pushed the Razorbacks up 64-52.

LeMoyne Owen never got the lead down to single-digits after that. Clarke ended the night with a game-high 21 points, hitting 8 of 12 shots.