ArkansasSports.com Articles
Warren, Ole Miss battle for win over Razorbacks
Date: 2010-03-07T03:35:01.647
Author: Harold McIlvain II
Editor note: Ole Miss guard Chris Warren (No. 12) finished with 31 points during a 68-66 win over Arkansas.
Number of Views: 213
Ole Miss basketball head coach Adam Kennedy kept looking to see if the Rebels would ever show signs of worry despite being down the majority of the game against Arkansas.
With a 10 point defect at halftime, the Rebels were not rattled. And even while being down 11 points with 5:22 left to play, Kennedy said the team still didn’t show signs of giving up.
“The thing that you are most proud of as a coach is when your team doesn’t quit,” Kennedy said. “They kept battling. We have been consistent in that area all year. As a result, I didn’t see any panic or sense of urgency from this team.”
The Rebels battled back during the 68-66 win and took their first lead of the game when it mattered most when Chris Warren hit a 3-pointer with 53 seconds left in the game.
The Rebels missed a free throw attempt and was able to find an open Warren for an opportunity to take the go-ahead shot.
“It’s almost like a offensive rebound off a half court set,” Kennedy said of the play. “It’s very difficult to match up with shooters. That’s where he got a rhythm 3-pointer and knocked it down. That’s what all-league players do.”
Warren, who finished with a game-high 31 points for the Rebels, made big shot after big shot to help keep the Rebels from slipping away down the stretch.
“He has been tremendous for us,” Kennedy said. “He is a kid that missed last year and has come back as our most consistent guy. Even though he got off to a slow start with some early fouls, he continued to keep us in the game with his offense.”
Arkansas guard Marcus Britt said the smallest of windows was enough for Warren, who averages 17 points a game, to get a good look at the basket.
“He stayed aggressive the whole game,” Britt said of the Orlando, Fla., native. “You couldn’t give him a peak because it was going up. He is a good player because he did we he had to do.”
Warren finished 11-of-17 from the field and made five 3-pointers, which is something Arkansas head coach John Pelphrey said he can do pretty easily with his talent.
“He made a lot of big time 3-point shots,” Pelphrey said. “He is a guy that is capable of putting five together during a night. He is the leading 3-point shotmaker in the league.”
After scoring 17 points in the previous matchup against Arkansas, Warren was a key difference this team around for the Rebels.
Arkansas won the first matchup in late January on the road 80-73, but it was a tale of two different teams both competing for the No. 2 seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Saturday.
Kennedy said the difference during the win this time was limiting the opportunities with a zone defense to forwards Marshawn Powell and Mike Washington, who combined for 41 points while finishing 13-of-23 from the field during the win the first time around.
“I thought they played more zone this game,” Arkansas guard Rotnei Clarke said. “They obviously wanted to limit the touches of Mike and Marshawn. That’s the tough part of getting them the opperunites because of the defense.”
Pelphrey said the zone was a problem as the two forwards finished the regular season finale with 17 points while shooting 6-of-23 from the field.
“They did a great job against Mike and Marshawn,” Pelphrey said. “They did a very good job defending those guys with low shooting percentages out of all of them.”
Rotating help in the post area was a key Kennedy said helped Ole Miss limiting Arkansas to just 18 points in the paint.
“I thought our big guys did a good job of not allowing them to get deep touches,” Kennedy said. “They obviously have us out sized. But before help could get there, they were already over powering us last time. We didn’t allow that this time.”
An Ole Miss win was apart of a five-game winning streak when Arkansas played earlier in the season. But the Razorbacks dropped it’s fifth straight game the second time around – which is just apart of the ebb and flow of a season, Kennedy said.
Pelphrey said the loss was disappointing heading into the SEC Tournament, but the team has made strides since the beginning of the season.
“That’s basketball and life,” Pelphrey said of the losing streak. “But I know where we were before the first Ole Miss game, too. Unfortunately for us we lost this one.”
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