The first milestone win a coach can earn is his first. South Alabama head coach Ronnie Arrow got his first win Dec. 8, 1987 against Alabama State, defeating the Hornets 101-90 in Mobile. It was the first en route to multiple coach of the year honors, conference championships and trips to the NCAA Tournament.
Almost 23 years later, Arrow earned his 300th Division I win in grand style, defeating Southeastern Conference foe Arkansas in Fayetteville 74-61. Arrow's 300th win came in his 19th year of coaching which included two stops at South Alabama and eight years at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
“I was happy for Coach,” said USA guard Tim Williams. “It was a big win for him and a major milestone in his career. I can’t imagine how he felt, but I know I felt good.”
Despite coughing up a huge early lead, the Jaguars rallied from a four-point halftime deficit to run away with their second win over an SEC opponent in three games dating back to 2007.
“It didn’t dawn on me until afterwards when someone said something about it in the press room,” said Arrow. “It’s one of those where if you’ve been doing it awhile, hopefully (a big milestone) happens. There are a tremendous amount of players and assistant coaches that go into making those wins happen. To be able to do it against an SEC school on their home court is nice.”
Martino Brock tied his career high and led all scorers with 21 points while the Jaguar defense held UA’s Rotnei Clarke to 9.2 points below his season average.
“I just wanted to be aggressive,” said Brock. “I’m from that area and I have a lot of friends up there. My friend (Arkansas guard) Courtney Fortson called me before the game and guaranteed that we were going to lose, so that had me motivated. I promised myself that I wouldn’t lose and put my heart on the line for that game.”
Brock lit up the Razorbacks for 17 points after halftime and missed just two shots (one from the floor and another at the foul line) in the final 20 minutes.
“We ran a spread offense where they had a much slower guy guarding him,” said Arrow. “It worked well. We were able to put him in a positive situation where he could score and finish. He grew up a lot that night. When you have a great game and are a major contributor in a big win like that it helps tremendously.”
Clarke, the SEC's leading scorer coming in to the contest, was held to 19 points and totaled only six after halftime. He did not convert a field goal until the 5:30 mark of the first half.
It was all USA from the outset as the Jaguars jumped to leads of 15-2 and 20-5 in the first eight minutes of action.
But just as South Alabama dominated the first 10 minutes of the first half, Arkansas took over before halftime. After a lay-up from USA’s Martino Brock made the score 24-8 with just over nine minutes left in the opening period, the Razorbacks responded, scoring 26 of the next 32 points to turn the game on its head and lead 34-30 at the break.
The Jags didn’t blink and in the second half pulled away with ease, scoring 17 consecutive points to transform a tie game into a rout.
Brock and Raymond Sims were the catalysts in the back-breaking run, combining for 15 of the 17 points. Sims totaled nine during the spurt, including six in a row.
The ‘Backs would close to within 11 on two occasions but it was too little, too late.
“We don’t ever go into a game thinking that we’re going to lose,” said Tim Williams. “That’s not our coach’s mentality and it’s not our mentality. We always think we’re going to win.”
“You hope that the work you’ve put in and the maturity level of your players is enough to win games like that,” said Arrow. “You hope they understand the preparation to beat a team like that and be as physical and mentally tough as their opponent. When we beat Arkansas, we did that.”
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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