FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas nearly doubled its shooting percentage in the second half to pull away for an 81-54 victory over Northeastern (Okla.) State in an exhibition game Tuesday night before an announced crowd of 4,525 in Walton Arena.
The Razorbacks shot 59.4 percent in the second half (19 of 32) after shooting 30.8 percent in the first half (12 of 39).
“When you talk about playing one half better than the other, we saw that tonight,” Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. “The second half, I thought our guys came out with tremendous focus and energy.
“The beauty of the game is it’s 40 minutes and not 20 minutes.”
Arkansas led 33-26 at halftime with the help of 11 offensive rebounds, and Razorbacks sophomore forward Michael Qualls praised his teammates for keeping their composure throughout the game.
“It’s so easy to get rattled when you’re not hitting shots,” Qualls said. “You start to get frustrated and you try to overcompensate and do stuff you’re not used to doing.
“I’m real proud of these guys because they kept their head and kept doing what they do. … No matter if it’s going up or down, you’ve got to play your way through it.”
Senior forward Coty Clarke, who was hot the whole game, led the Razorbacks with 16 points and shot 7 of 9 from the field with 7 rebounds. He’s shot 11 of 13 from the field in 2 exhibition games after going 4 of 4 in a 99-82 victory over Missouri Southern.
“Coty’s been bringing that in practice,” Anderson said. “He’s been ol’ steady Coty. He’s taking a leadership role, and he’s playing at a good level right now. Let’s hope that continues.”
Clarke said the Razorbacks’ offense was stagnant in the first half and the players lacked concentration. Anderson said they were settling for jump shots.
“We were thinking about making plays and catching it and holding it versus just moving it and getting it swung around,” Clarke said. “We got the ball moving in the second half. We were swinging it, getting cuts and curls, and it led to those easy shots.”
Bobby Portis, the Razorbacks’ 6-10 freshman from Little Rock Hall, started and shot 1 of 8 from the field and scored 2 points but had 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
“It just shows you Bobby can have an effect on a game and it’s not just necessarily scoring,” Anderson said. “He has a tremendous basketball IQ.”
Anderson said the game was a learning curve for Portis because he was pushed around at times by the RiverHawks.
“I think as he continues to find his role on this team, he’ll give us a presence,” Anderson said. “He’ll play with the physicality you’ve got to play with at this level.
“You’ve got to remember,this guy is a true freshman. That was just his second game playing here in a Razorback uniform. He’s only going to get better.”
Arkansas sophomore guard Anthlon Bell scored 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Junior forward Alandise Harris had 10 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocked shots, Qualls had 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals, and senior guard Fred Gulley had 9 points, 2 assists and 2 steals without a turnover.
NSU forward Curtis Evans, a junior from Springdale, had seven points and four rebounds.
The Razorbacks held the RiverHawks, who are ranked No. 17 in the NCAA Division II preseason coaches’ poll, to 35.2 percent shooting (19 of 54) and forced 22 turnovers.
“We were engaged defensively, we were on the same page, deflecting passes,” Anderson said. “We were making wear and tear a big factor. I thought Northeastern got tired out there.”
Sports, Pages 19 on 11/06/2013