FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Steven Hill scored a career-high 16 points – many of them on crowd-pleasing dunks – and Arkansas rolled to an easy 72-52 victory over No. 16 LSU on Saturday.
The Razorbacks (13-6, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) had lost three straight since an 88-61 win over then-No. 8 Alabama earlier this month. They ended the skid with a resounding performance against another ranked team.
Hill, whose previous career high was 15 points in a 67-64 loss to Georgia on Wednesday night, went 8-of-10 from the field. The 7-footer is 20-of-22 in his last four games.
LSU (13-5, 2-2) had won seven of eight against Arkansas, but couldn’t overcome 35 percent shooting in this one. Glen Davis led the Tigers with 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting, and added eight rebounds.
Hill, a junior, more than held his own against the LSU star. Hill has been known more as a shot blocker than a scorer at Arkansas, but he’s made teams pay lately for losing track of him.
The Razorbacks were already ahead comfortably in the second half when Hill brought the crowd to life with a trio of dunks. The first two finished alley-oops and the last, a putback of a missed shot, made it 59-44.
Hill added seven rebounds, and left to a standing ovation with 1:08 to play.
Arkansas point guard Gary Ervin, who has struggled with turnovers lately, was pulled from the starting lineup in favor of freshman Stefan Welsh. But when Ervin played, he was effective. He finished with 11 points, seven assists and three turnovers.
Sonny Weems added 13 points for the Razorbacks, and Charles Thomas had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Darian Townes scored 10 points.
Arkansas lost to Georgia on Steve Newman’s long 3-pointer at the buzzer, but the Razorbacks bounced back emphatically against LSU. The Tigers’ Magnum Rolle missed a dunk on an alley-oop, and freshman Patrick Beverley made a 3-pointer at the other end to give Arkansas an 18-10 lead. The Razorbacks later went on a 9-0 run to make it 36-21.
Arkansas led 39-26 after a first half in which it shot 59 percent, then Hill started the second with an alley-oop dunk. Beverley’s 3-pointer in transition made it 46-28.
LSU coach John Brady was clearly exasperated on the sideline, drawing chants of “Sit Down, Brady!” late in the game. Brady raised his hand to acknowledge the Arkansas fans, then sat.
Terry Martin scored 10 points for the Tigers. Tasmin Mitchell finished with as many turnovers (six) as points.
The previous four meetings between the teams were decided by five points or less.
LSU Head Coach John Brady
“I’ll be honest. Our team tried hard and played hard and did the best they could to carry out the game plan. We didn’t do that well against the zone. We just need to play better against the zone from now on. There at the end we had a couple of chances to cut the lead to 10 with about four minutes left and didn’t execute. Defensively we played well but we need to do a little work offensively to be able to win on the road. We need to make more timely plays at crucial moments. I’m not disappointed in our effort at all.”
LSU Players
Center Glen Davis
“The pressure comes with the territory. They have to double team me. They have to focus on me and we have to win through the perimeter. They have to put pressure on me, its part of the game plan. I have to adjust and stay in the groove. I have to let the game come to me. It’s a better thing staying on the block and getting into a rhythm. It hurts a lot not hitting shots, but we must keep shooting.
On Steven Hill:
“I always knew he had talent. Tonight was his night with dunks and blocks. I didn’t underestimate his ability.
Arkansas Head Coach Stan Heath
“I am so proud of our team. After two heartbreaking games it would have been easy for our team to put their heads down but they didn’t do that. They were on a mission today. I can’t thank our fans enough. They came out today and gave us an extra boost of energy. They are great encouragement for us. LSU is a very good basketball team. Today we did everything we talked about doing and we shared the ball with each other.
“How about Steven Hill today? He’s a big reason we do so well defensively. Our fans are really appreciative of him. He is setting the tone for our basketball team. He doesn’t say a whole lot but he brings it to the court.
“When we have five guys with double figures and one with nine points then that is a team effort. We need to take that on the road with us. Anytime we get a win it gives us confidence and that will help us on the road.
On Glen Davis:
“He commanded a lot of attention tonight. I thought we did a great job keeping him under wraps to a degree.
“In our conference there is not a bottom or a dominating team right now. We have had a lot of close ballgames and we need to close those out and finish them. If we can do that, it will be a telltale sign of how successful we will be this season.”
Arkansas Players
Steven Hill
“We were having a blast out there today. Our leaders really stepped up. They (the dunks) were pure momentum, they weren’t planned, they just happened.”
“We can’t get too hot, we have to stay grounded.”
Gary Ervin
“We had to keep the defense honest and knock down open shots.” Steven (Hill’s dunks) gave us momentum and energized us.”
Sonny Weems
“The SEC games are all going to be tough, we have to come out each day with the same intensity.”
“We just had to contain (Glen) Davis, he is going to get his points. All our attention was on defense.”