FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. --- University of South Alabama freshman Martino Brock (Memphis, Tenn.) scored a game-high 21 points to give head coach Ronnie Arrow his 300th Division I win as the USA men’s basketball team defeated Arkansas 74-61 Sunday afternoon at Bud Walton Arena.

Arrow improves to 300-206 in his 19th season as a head coach. He is 166-115 in two separate stints at South Alabama.

“If you stay at it long enough you’re going to get some wins,” said Arrow. “I was just happy for the guys. We’ve put in a lot of hard work and seeing a lot of maturity.”

The Jaguars win their third straight game to go to 6-2. The Razorbacks, led by former USA head coach John Pelphrey, drop their third straight to fall to 2-4.

It was a game of runs as South Alabama led early 15-2 only to see Arkansas come back with a 17-1 spurt and lead 34-30 at halftime.

The teams traded scores to open the second half and a 3-pointer by the Razorbacks’ Glenn Bryant tied the score at 40-40.

That would be the last trading to take place as the Jaguars ripped off 17 straight points over a 5:17 stretch and held the ‘Backs without a point for over six minutes and without a field goal for 8:42.

Brock got the run started with a pair of free throws and a jumper and finished it off with two more at the charity stripe. Junior Raymond Sims (Philadelphia, Pa.) contributed nine points, including six in a row, and added a 3-pointer as well.

Arkansas got to within 11 on two occasions but back-to-back buckets from Brock and later, four consecutive USA free throws put an end to both attempted rallies.

UA shot just 6-for-30 (30.0%) in the second half and had only three field goals through the 5:30 mark.

“It was an up-tempo game,” said Arrow. “We wanted to lock up on them and see what we could hold them to and I thought we did a really good job. I was really proud of our defense and we hit some buckets and ran our offense when we needed to.”

The Razorbacks’ Rotnei Clark, the SEC’s leading scorer at 28.2 points per game, was held to 19 points and had just six after halftime. Clark came into the game converting 61.1% from 3-point territory on a conference-high 33 treys but went 2-for-7 from long-range. His first field goal of the contest did not come until the 5:30 mark of the first half.

Brock scored 17 of his 21 points after halftime by converting six of his seven shots from the floor. Sunday was the second 20-point performance in his young career. He has led the team in scoring four times.

“Martino can be one of the best players in the history of our school,” said Arrow. “He just has to keep working, get stronger and stay focused. Sometimes he loses his focus was he was focused tonight and we needed him.”

The Jaguars had two other players in double figures. Senior Bryan Sherrer (Monticello, Ark.) and junior Tim Williams (Pontiac, Mich.) scored 11 points each.

South Alabama will take time off due to final exams and won’t return to action until Dec. 9 when the Jags host Mobile.

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).

NOTES: The Jaguars’ last win at an SEC school was Dec. 1, 2000 at Auburn, a 68-66 victory… South Alabama has shot 50% or better from the floor in the second half in all six of its wins – the Jags went 12-for-22 (54.5%) vs. Arkansas… Junior Gary Redus (Decatur, Ala.) was held to five points, ending his five-game double-digit scoring streak… USA won the battle of the boards 35-28… Senior Charles Tabet (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) grabbed five rebounds and blocked a career-high three shots… South Alabama shot 19-for-21 from the foul line in the second half after going just 4-for-8 in the first half... USA is now 1-5 in its history against Arkansas.


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