FAYETTEVILLE — No fire as alarm goes off
Rotnei Clarke might have been on fire, but it turned out Walton Arena wasn’t.
When a fire alarm went off during Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey’s postgame news conference as he was talking about the Razorbacks’ 66-62 overtime victory against Missouri State on Tuesday night, Walton Arena was cleared of those remaining inside as a precaution.
The thought occurred that Clarke - the Razorbacks’ sophomore guard who scored 12 points in the final 6:38 by going 4 of 4 from the field and 2 of 2 from the free-throw line - might have ignited something with his hot shooting down the stretch.
But it turned out to be a false alarm. There was no fire.
One of the arena’s heat sensors was set off, possibly because of steam coming from a locker room shower.
Bryant plays big
Freshman forward Glenn Bryant played just two minutes and had zeroes across the board when Arkansas beat Stephen F.
Austin 72-69 last Saturday, but he stayed enthusiastic on the bench.
“I love that attitude,” Coach John Pelphrey said after the game. “Everybody is going to get their opportunity, and today wasn’t his, but he was cheering his tail off for his teammates.”
Bryant’s day came Tuesday night, when he had 11 rebounds, 5 points and 2 blocked shots in 28 minutes off the bench.
“I think he won the game for us,” guard Rotnei Clarke said. “When he came in, he brought so much intensity and toughness.
“He obviously plays hard every possession he goes. He did all the right things and was huge for us.”
Bryant, who stopped a 14-0 Missouri State run in the first half by making a steal and converting it into a three-point play to start a 15-6 spurt by the Razorbacks, said he was just doing his job.
“Coach tells me to bring high energy, play good defense, and that’s what I do,” he said. “I just stay ready to play.
“I don’t get mad or anything. I just cheer my team on. As long as we get the win, I’m happy.” Tough D
Missouri State came into the game shooting 46.1 percent from the field, but shot 31.9 percent (23 of 72) against the Razorbacks.
“I thought they did a good job of being aggressive and being physical,” Bears Coach Cuonzo Martin said.
“I thought they were honed in defensively.
“They really carried out their assignments, especially late in the game.” Winning for state
Missouri State’s reign of terror against teams from Arkansas finally was ended.
The Bears had been 6-0 against The Natural State the past two seasons, including 1-0 against the Razorbacks, 2-0 against both Arkansas State and UALR and 1-0 against Central Arkansas.
All-time series
Arkansas improved to 18-6 all-time against Missouri State, including 11-1 at home.
The Bears’ lone victory at Fayetteville came during the 1923-1924 season, 38-31.
That was the 14th game played in the Razorbacks’ first season.
Sports, Pages 24 on 12/23/2009