FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas forward Bobby Portis was challenged by Coach Mike Anderson at halftime of Friday night’s game against Louisiana-Lafayette.
“The first half I was playing kind of soft. I wasn’t banging,” said Portis, a 6-10 freshman from Little Rock Hall. “Coach told me to bring some intensity and some energy, so I tried to go to work.”
Portis had a big second half to help the Razorbacks pull away late to beat the Ragin’ Cajuns 76-63 at Walton Arena.
Portis, who played 13 minutes in each half, scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half, when he hit 4 of 6 field goal attempts. He had a three-point play on a layup and hit a three-pointer to help the Razorbacks overcome a 53-48 deficit with less than 11 minutes to play.
Anderson said he didn’t believe Portis was playing as aggressively in the first half as he normally does in practice.
“But in the second half, he was more assertive and playing like he’s capable,” Anderson said.
Sophomore forward Michael Qualls, who had 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists for the Razorbacks, said he was impressed by the poise Portis showed playing in a close game.
“I felt like he stayed levelheaded,” Qualls said. “He listened when it was time to listen and spoke up when it was time to speak up. Those are big traits. I’m very proud of him for that.”
Senior point guard Fred Gulley said there’s a growth period for any player going from the high school to college level, even for a player such as Portis, who was a McDonald’s All-American.
“I feel like with Bobby, his growth period is going to be a lot shorter because he’s pretty mature,” Gulley said. “He learned from what Coach said at halftime and took it and went out there and executed what we were trying to get done.”Mustangs up next
SMU, coached by Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Brown, will play Arkansas at 7 p.m. Monday in Walton Arena.
The Mustangs are 2-0 after beating TCU 69-61 and Rhode Island 89-58.
It’s the first of two games in a home-and-home series between the former Southwest Conference rivals, who haven’t played since the 1995-1996 season when the Razorbacks won 73-46 in Fayetteville.
Next season, Arkansas will play SMU in Dallas at Moody Coliseum, the Mustangs’ long-time arena which currently is being renovated and will reopen in January.
Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson said it’s a good series for the Razorbacks because they recruit the Dallas area and have a large fan base there.
“They needed a game and we needed a game, and it worked out,” Anderson said.
Arkansas has a 94-58 series lead over SMU, including 54-17 in Fayetteville.
Weird ending
Louisiana-Lafayette Coach Bob Marlin, who wasn’t pleased with some calls against his team when Arkansas outscored the Cajuns 17-3 in the final 5:49 Friday night, left his bench with 6.5 seconds left to go to shake Mike Anderson’s hand with the Razorbacks leading 75-63.
The officials called a technical foul on Marlin for leaving the coaching box during the game.
“I actually thought the game was over with,” Anderson said. “He just said, ‘Good game,’ and I guess he just got tired of watching it.
“It was kind of weird, but I thought the clock had 0.0 on it so I didn’t know what was going on. Sometime frustration gets the best of you, and we had a great run going down the stretch.”
Asked after the game about what caused him to shake Anderson’s hand before the final seconds ticked off, Marlin said, “I had seen enough.”
Marlin said he didn’t realize he’d gotten a technical until he was in the tunnel leading to the locker rooms.
“I don’t know why I would get a technical,” he said. “If they say I’m out of the box, I thought [Arkansas’ coaches] were out of the box all game, so ….” Madden helps
Arkansas junior guard Ky Madden missed the two exhibition games and season opener against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville because of a disciplinary suspension, and Coach Mike Anderson said he thought Madden might have to miss the Louisiana-Lafayette game because of illness.
Madden didn’t practice Thursday, but played 17 minutes off the bench Friday night. He had 3 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, hitting 3 of 4 free throws in the final 1:17 to help the Razorbacks clinch the victory.
“Without a doubt, he makes our team better,” Anderson said. “He’s a guy that can get other guys involved.” Star power
Each team will feature a McDonald’s All-American in the Arkansas-SMU game with Razorbacks freshman forward Bobby Portis and Mustangs freshman guard Keith Frazier.
Portis is averaging 10 points, 4.5 rebounds and 25 minutes in two games as a starter. Frazier, who earned the honor while playing Dallas Kimball, is averaging 9.0 points in two games off the bench and has hit 4 of 9 three-pointers.
Kikko annoying?
Louisiana-Lafayette point guard Elfrid Payton smiled when asked “how annoying” it was to play against Arkansas senior Kikko Haydar, who is known for his pesky defense.
“He wasn’t that aggravating,” Payton said. “I’ve played more aggravating people. But he’s just … talking. It’s not going to affect what I do.”
Payton was plenty annoying for the Razorbacks. The 6-3 junior scored a game-high 27 points and hit 9 of 18 shots and 9 of 14free throws, though he tired down the stretch playing 39 minutes and finished with 9 turnovers.
Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson compared Payton to Michael Carter-Williams, who played for Syracuse against the Razorbacks last season and is now a rookie with the Philadelphia 76ers.
“It’s hard to stay in front of a guy like that, because he can make so many things happen,” Anderson said.
Coming up short
Cajuns 6-9 sophomore forward Shawn Long, a transfer from Mississippi State, had 12 points and 5 rebounds Friday night after averaging 26 points and 14.5 rebounds in the first two games against Louisiana College and McNeese State.
He played 26 minutes and had four fouls.
“I was disappointed,” Louisiana-Lafayette Coach Bob Marlin said when asked about Long’s play. “I felt like he was the best inside guy on the floor, and he didn’t prove it.”
Sweet 16
Arkansas has won 16 consecutive games at Walton Arena since losing to No. 6 Syracuse 91-82 last season.
Sports, Pages 30 on 11/17/2013