In the lane

Powell, Young struggle

Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson motions to his players in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Vanderbilt on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson motions to his players in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Vanderbilt on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

— Vanderbilt achieved a feat no other team has done this season.

The Commodores held Arkansas’ leading scorers, Marshawn Powell and BJ Young, to fewer than 10 points each in their 67-49 rout of the Razorbacks at Memorial Gym on Saturday.

Powell, beset by early foul trouble, finished with five points on 2-of-4 shooting, and Young scored seven points with a 2-of-6 shooting.

The two had scored at least 10 points each in seven of Arkansas’ nine SEC games, including Arkansas’56-33 victory over Vanderbilt on Jan. 12, when Powell made 8 of 9 shots and scored 17 points and Young added 14 points.

Vanderbilt Coach Kevin Stallings said getting Powell in foul trouble was one of his team’s biggest points of emphasis.

“Obviously it was a far cry different from the first time we played them, when he had his way with us,” Stallings said.

Powell, who didn’t attempt a shot in the first half, played 17 minutes before fouling out with 3:20 left.

“He’s a big inside presence for us,” Arkansas guard Kikko Haydar said.

“Not having him on the floor, it hurts. We have to do a better job of picking up the slack.” Even keel

Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said he did a poor job of keeping the Razorbacks on an even keel in the aftermath of their 80-69 victory over No. 2 Florida on Tuesday.

“You’ve got to match the intensity even more so, and you’ve got to play with a mental toughness that can enable you to get through some of the rough stretches,” Anderson said. “We had some rough stretches early on.” Quick fouls

Arkansas’ Marshawn Powell picked up a foul on Vanderbilt’s first possession and again on the Commodores’ third possession at the 17:34 mark.

Both were shooting fouls, and Powell made his case that he didn’t commit the second infraction. Referee Joe Lindsay consulted the replay monitor and kept the foul on Powell, who went to the bench.

Coach Mike Anderson reinserted Powell at the 9:52 mark, and Powell picked up his third foul 30 seconds later - again a shooting foul - and didn’t return in the half.

New story

Vanderbilt Coach Kevin Stallings said he thought his team played without energy for only a brief stretch in the second half, when a 6-0 Arkansas run pulled the Razorbacks within 43-38 with 11:45 left.

“They had us on our heels in the first game from the very, very first possession,” Stallings said of the Razorbacks’ 56-33 victory Jan. 12, a game in which Vanderbilt made 3 of 15 shots in the first half.

The series

Vanderbilt is now 10-17 against Arkansas in the all-time series. The Commodores hold an 8-5 edge at home. Vanderbilt Coach Kevin Stallings is 4-12 against the Razorbacks.

Slow go

Vanderbilt missed its first five shots and didn’t make a field goal until Rod Odom’s put back of his own miss at the 13:47 mark, which gave the Commodores a 7-6 lead.

Arkansas made two of its first four shots - both three-pointers by Mardracus Wade - but then went 1 of 15 for an 11:50 stretch to fall behind 21-11. Kikko Haydar’s three-pointer was the only made field goal during that stretch.

Heating up

Vanderbilt made 11 of 21 shots in the first half, including a few backdoor cuts for layups, for 52.4 percent shooting, a stark contrast to its 3-of-15 shooting in the first half at Arkansas.

The Commodores also made 4 of 9 three-pointers, including a bank shot by Sheldon Jeter from the top of the key while building a 35-24 advantage at intermission.

Free shots

Vanderbilt, the SEC’s worst free-throw shooting team (60.3 percent), made 9 of 10 free throws in the first half. The Commodores made 16 of 23 (69.6 percent) for the game to outperform the Razorbacks (11 of 17, 64.7 percent) from the line.

Tip-ins

A three-pointer by Rod Odom with 2:07 remaining in the first half gave Vanderbilt its 33rd point of the game, which equaled the Commodores’ scoring total in their 56-33 loss at Arkansas on Jan. 12.

... Vanderbilt extended its streak of games with made three-pointers to 854 as it joined UNLV and Princeton as the only schools to hit a three-pointer in every game since the three-point line was implemented.

Sports, Pages 30 on 02/10/2013

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