FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coasted against Florida Gulf Coast.
The Razorbacks took an 18-point lead less than five minutes into the game, and beat the Eagles 90-47 on Monday night before an announced crowd of 5,678 in Walton Arena.
It was the most-lopsided defeat Florida Gulf Coast (2-2) has experienced since moving up to the NCAA Division I basketball level four years ago, surpassing an 85-45 loss to Kansas on Nov. 18, 2009.
“I thought Arkansas played a very well-rounded game,” Florida Gulf Coast Coach Dave Balza said. “If they play like that every night, they’re going to be awfully good.”
Junior guard Rotnei Clarke led the Razorbacks (2-0) with 14 points. Senior guard Jemal Farmer added 12 points and junior forward Marvell Waithe had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Arkansas scored 35 points off 24 turnovers by the Eagles and hit 35 of 63 field-goal attempts (55.6 percent), including 14 of 30 three-pointers.
“It was a three-point party,” Waithe said. “Everybody joined in.”
Seven Razorbacks hit at least one three-point basket, led by Clarke’s 4-of-10 shooting.
“I think we’re underrated,” Waithe said of the Razorbacks’ three-point skills. “As the year goes on, everybody will see that we’ve got a lot of shooters.”
Arkansas played without sophomore forward Marshawn Powell, an All-SEC preseason pick, and junior forward Michael Sanchez.
Powell has been limited in practice while he continues to recover from a broken left foot he suffered in early August. He played 15 minutes in the Razorbacks’ 75-52 season opening victory over Grambling State last Thursday, but limped noticeably.
Sanchez has been out since last week because of a stress fracture in his left foot and is expected to be sidelined another five weeks.
Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey said Powell practiced on Sunday, but has soreness in the foot after “stinging” it against Grambling.
“He has good days and bad days,” Pelphrey said. “It’s just going to be on him [when to play]. ... Marshawn knows his foot, and he just needs to continue to embrace the rehab.”
Without Powell and Sanchez, the Razorbacks had an inside rotation of Waithe along with senior Delvon Johnson and sophomore Glenn Bryant, who each had eight points and six rebounds.
“A lot of guys play bigger than what we really are,” Waithe said. “That helps. We’re all right.”
Waithe’s rebounding helped offset the absence of Powell and Sanchez.
“I don’t want to be known just as a shooter,” said Waithe, a junior-college transfer. “And when my shot’s not falling, I’ve got to bring something else or I’m not going to play.
“I can shoot, but not as well as Rotnei. I’ve got to rebound and I’ve got to defend.”
Balza said the Eagles were overwhelmed early by the Razorbacks’ athleticism.
“I thought Arkansas looked like a team that had only played one regular-season game and was champing at the bit to get a piece of somebody,” he said.
Pressure defense helped the Razorbacks put together runs of 20-0 in the first half and 18-0 in the second half.
“We came out hot,” Farmer said. “We’ve been practicing real hard against each other, and it just carried over to the game.
“Everybody was energized and ready to go.”
Sophomore point guard Julysses Nobles had 7 points, 7 assists and 4 steals.
“I must have pointed out Nobles five times to our point guards on the bench when they were out, because I thought he did such a good job of getting penetration and kicking it for wide-open looks,” Balza said.
Reed Baker’s 14 points led Florida Gulf Coast, which shot 25.4 percent from the field (15 of 59) and was 2 of 19 on three point attempts.
“Against their bigger athletes we had trouble getting it inside,” Balza said. “We needed to knock down some jumpers, but we didn’t.”
Pelphrey said he was disappointed by Arkansas’ 21 turnovers, but that there were spots in the game where the Razorbacks looked as good as they have since practice opened.
“This is obviously a small step, but I was very proud of our team,” Pelphrey said. “I was pleased with the effort and the focus.
“We did a good job sharing the basketball, and it was nice to get some defense into the game and make some shots.”
Sports, Pages 17 on 11/23/2010