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Senior success: Things go right in UA win | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

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Senior success: Things go right in UA win | Arkansas Democrat Gazette


FAYETTEVILLE — A lot of things have gone wrong for the University of Arkansas men’s basketball team this season.

One thing that went right was Senior Night.

In the final home game of the season, the Razorbacks beat LSU 94-83 on Wednesday night at Walton Arena.

Immediately after the game, Arkansas’ seniors were honored in a brief ceremony.

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“It’s probably hard to go out there and take pictures smiling if you’re a competitor,” Razorbacks Coach Eric Musselman said. “So you want to win. I’m happy that the team played well in Bud Walton.”

Arkansas (15-15, 6-11 SEC) earned a season split with LSU (16-14, 8-9) after the Tigers won the teams’ first game 95-74 in Baton Rouge on Feb. 3.

“Credit to Arkansas, they played very well on their Senior Night,” Tigers Coach Matt McMahon said on LSU’s postgame radio show. “They were the better team.”

Musselman used an eight-man rotation that featured six seniors — guards Khalif Battle, El Ellis, Davonte Davis and Jeremiah Davenport along with big men Makhi Mitchell, Chandler Lawson and Jeremiah Davenport — along with junior guard Tramon Mark and sophomore forward Trevon Brazile.

The seniors combined for 79 points, 31 rebounds, 12 assists, 8 steals and 7 blocked shots.

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“Them beating us, we knew coming in for the seniors and for the last game, it was a get-back game,” said Davenport, who had 5 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. “We came out here with a great attitude.”

Battle, who led the Razorbacks with 29 points, is a fifth-year graduate transfer, but he still has another season of eligibility remaining.

“I’m a Razorback. I’m right here,” Battle said when asked about his plans for next season. “I’m a Razorback. Ain’t nothing changed. I’m a Razorback until the end.”

Musselman was asked about Battle’s indication he plans to be back at Arkansas next season.

“I think with all players, you play the season out and you see how it unwinds, so it would be unfair for me to speculate either way,” Musselman said. “I do think he’s really happy playing at Arkansas. We’re happy with the way that he’s progressed.

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“The way that he’s evolved as the season’s gone on. He’s done a great job of buying in, and I think that’s why you see the productivity continue to improve.

“I know that he enjoys playing here and playing in [the Razorbacks’] system, but it’s whenever he makes a decision or whatever’s on him.”

Battle has scored 141 points the past four games, the most by an SEC player in 20 seasons, according to the SEC Network. He surpassed Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks, who had 134 points in a four-game stretch in 2009, the SEC Network posted on social media.

Battle had the ball in his hands in the final seconds, but dribbled out the clock rather than trying to score more than 30 points for the fourth consecutive game after having 42 against Missouri, 36 against Vanderbilt and 34 at Kentucky.

“I ain’t going to show up [LSU] when we already had ’em,” Battle said. “We already had won, and 30 points don’t mean nothing, you know what I’m saying?

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“The win is more important. Years from now, nobody’s going to remember, ‘Oh, K.B. had 29 against LSU on Senior Night.’ Nobody’s going to remember that. They’re going to remember we won.”

Battle hit 7 of 14 shots, including 2 of 6 three-pointers, and made 13 of 14 free throws.

“There’s not many players in the history of the SEC that have gone on a scoring spurt like K.B. has,” Musselman said. “And he’s defending better, he’s defensive rebounding better.”

Battle had 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a career-high 3 blocked shots.

“That’s cool, for sure,” Battle said of the blocked shots. “I think the team was more hyped than I was. I was just worried about us winning the game.

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“I think I’m an all-around basketball player. I know people say things about my defense. … But people that really watch, I think they’ll see that I give value on the defensive end and I take a lot of pride in it.”

Mitchell had 19 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.

“Makhi was dominant inside,” Musselman said.

Mitchell hit 8 of 10 shots and 3 of 4 free throws. Along with Lawson, Mitchell helped hold LSU 7-0 senior Will Baker to 3 points on 1-of-4 shooting after he burned the Razorbacks with 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting in last month’s game.

“We had a game plan to try to stop Will Baker,” Musselman said. “Obviously he hurt us in the last game.

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“We changed up our coverages, and I thought we did a great job taking him out of the game.”

The Razorbacks finished the season 11-6 in games at Walton Arena, including 4-5 in SEC games.

LSU has lost five consecutive games at Walton Arena. It last won at Arkansas in 2019, 94-88 in overtime.

Ellis had 16 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, Mark had 9 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, and Lawson had 7 points and 2 steals.

Senior guard Jordan Wright led LSU with 24 points and sophomore guard Tyrell Ward added 19.

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The Razorbacks shot 60.8% from the field (31 of 51) and hit 27 of 33 free throws.

LSU shot 44.8% (30 of 67) and hit 18 of 26 free throws.

“I thought they were just relentless, really hurt us on some ball screens,” McMahon said. “In a game where we got 16 more shot attempts than they did, they did a much better job finishing at the basket.”

The Razorbacks took the lead for good with 16:35 left in the first half when Ellis hit a jumper to put them up 8-7.

Arkansas was ahead 42-33 at halftime and Lawson’s three-point play pushed their lead to 49-37 with 18:37 left.

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LSU pulled within 60-56 on a free throw by Trae Hannibal with 11:34 left, but the Razorbacks responded with a 7-0 run — including two free throws and a layup by Mitchell and a three-pointer by Battle — to move ahead 67-56.

LSU didn’t pull closer than five points the rest of the game, and the Razorbacks pushed their lead to 80-66.

“Every time we got [close] in the second half, they had a great response,” McMahon said.

Arkansas finished with 10 blocked shots, while LSU didn’t have any.

“In an SEC game, that’s hard to do, and we can get better at that, too,” Musselman said. “I thought they had a couple layups where we didn’t go vertical, so that’s something we want to keep getting better at.”

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Musselman said he liked Wednesday night’s playing rotation.

“Sometimes during the course of the season, you’re constantly tinkering,” Musselman said. “If you pick up the box score from the last time we played LSU, it’s a much different look than we were then.

“I’ve settled in where guys are understanding roles, expectations.”

    Arkansas guard Khalif Battle goes up for a layup during the second half Wednesday against LSU at Walton Arena in Fayetteville. Battle scored 29 points as the Razorbacks defeated the Tigers 94-83 to improve to 15-15 overall and 6-11 in the SEC. More photos at arkansasonline.com/37hogsatlsu/ (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
 
 



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OPINION | WALLY HALL: Arkansas will need more than Robinson’s coerced contribution | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

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OPINION | WALLY HALL: Arkansas will need more than Robinson’s coerced contribution | Arkansas Democrat Gazette


Wally Hall

whall@adgnewsroom.com

Wally Hall is assistant managing sports editor for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A graduate of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock after an honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force, he is a member and past president of the Football Writers Association of America, member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, past president and current executive committee and board member of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, and voter for the Heisman Trophy. He has been awarded Arkansas Sportswriter of the Year 10 times and has been inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and Arkansas Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame.

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Who is Taylen Green? Arkansas QB dazzles with record-setting NFL combine performance

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Who is Taylen Green? Arkansas QB dazzles with record-setting NFL combine performance


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Move over, Anthony Richardson. There’s a new quarterback athletic marvel at the NFL scouting combine.

On Saturday in Indianapolis, Arkansas’ Taylen Green broke Richardson’s top marks at the position since 2003 for both the vertical leap and broad jump. Green’s 43½-inch vertical topped Richardson’s previous high by three inches, while his 11-2 broad jump beat the Indianapolis Colts signal-caller’s measurement by five inches.

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Then, Green reeled off a 4.36-second 40-yard dash time. That stood as the second-best time for any quarterback since 2003, trailing only Reggie McNeal in 2006 (4.35 seconds). Richardson, for comparison, logged a 4.43-second mark in 2023.

Green didn’t even bother with a second attempt after his initial time.

The testing profile created quite the stir around the 6-6, 227-pound passer, who had widely projected as a developmental option for teams on Day 3.

NFL Network’s Charles Davis said Green told him that no teams had approached him about working out as a receiver, adding that he would not be interested in a position switch.

Green started for the Razorbacks for the last two seasons after playing the first three years of his career at Boise State. Known for his running ability and ample arm strength, Green threw for 2,714 yards and 19 touchdowns last year while adding 777 yards and eight scores on the ground.

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It was a banner day for Arkansas, as running back Mike Washington Jr. also stood out among his peers with a group-leading 4.33-second 40-yard dash as well as strong marks in the vertical leap (39 inches) and broad jump (10-8).



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George Dunklin’s legacy of conservation in Arkansas | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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George Dunklin’s legacy of conservation in Arkansas | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette


Rex Nelson

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Rex Nelson has been senior editor and columnist at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette since 2017, and he has a biweekly podcast called “Southern Fried.”

After graduating from Ouachita Baptist University in 1981, he was a sportswriter for the Arkansas Democrat for a year before becoming editor of Arkadelphia’s Daily Siftings Herald. He was the youngest editor of a daily in Arkansas at age 23. Rex was then news and sports director at KVRC-KDEL from 1983-1985.

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He returned to the Democrat as assistant sports editor in 1985. From 1986-1989, he was its Washington correspondent. He left to be Jackson T. Stephens’ consultant.

Rex became the Democrat-Gazette’s first political editor in 1992, but left in 1996 to join then-Gov. Mike Huckabee’s office. He also served from 2005-09 in the administration of President George W. Bush.

From 2009-2018, he worked stints at the Communications Group, Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities, and Simmons First National Corp.



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