Razorbacks fall to Bucknell in NCAA first round

DALLAS - Stan Heath's plea to nobody in particular was also an indictment of the Arkansas offense.

"One more pass, one more pass," the Arkansas coach muttered to the bench in general after Eric Ferguson's 3 rolled off the rim with 31 seconds to play on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Anybody who has played golf behind a poky foursome knows how hurry-up-and-wait can accent the antsy. Starting out patient is one thing; staying that way is another when it takes forever for the green to clear because the player up ahead has watched too much PGA Tour. When it's finally time to go, often the player who has been on hold swings too quickly.

It was the same for Arkansas' basketball team against Bucknell. When the other team is going deep into the 35-second clock before even glancing at the basket, there is a rush-to-shoot at the other end. In the media room Thursday night, a Bucknell beat man promised that the Bison would not vary, no matter what. Even as Arkansas was cutting into Bucknell's 10-point lead, it was the same pass-pass-pass around the perimeter 25-30 from the basket.

Heath said later that it is much more difficult to speed up a Bucknell than to slow down a team that wants to run. One of the rare deviations from the Bucknell strategy also qualified as the play of the game. Steven Hill and Abe Badmus hit the floor on a rebound and Hill limped off, providing an opportunity for Jonathon Modica to come off the bench and shoot two free throws. He made both for 55-55 and came to the sideline, index finger of his right hand extended to the crowd.

The game meant something to the senior who grew up in south Arkansas and he called a close friend Sunday evening, boo-hooing when it was official that the Razorbacks had earned an invite to the tournament after three years of failures. Following the 59-55 loss on Friday, he cried again - sad that it was over and hurting because an ankle injury prevented him from giving his all.

Still, he scored 19, almost exclusively inside, and helped Arkansas to a lopsided 32-10 advantage in close. After Modica's second free throw, Arkansas jumped into a press - something that bothered Bucknell in the final minutes - and nine seconds were gone from the shot clock when Donald Brown fired a 50-foot pass to Charles Lee under the Arkansas basket. The layup was easy.

Other than Kevin Bettencourt taking a couple of 3s in the second half, Bucknell's pace of play made the Bison lead seem larger than 4-5 points. It was more than just perception. The Razorbacks only attempted 47 shots, the lowest since they tried that same number two months ago against Vanderbilt.

In the 15 games since, Arkansas attempted less than 50 in the 73-70 loss at Ole Miss and the 73-59 victory over South Carolina.

Bettencourt can be excused for an occasional quick trigger - he made half of his 10 3-point attempts and his teammates contributed 6-of-11. Almost every time, the trey try was off a set play, part of an exquisitely run offense.

The exception was John Griffin's shot put rainbow that beat the shot clock for 37-31. The threes were a must for Bucknell, particularly after Steven Hill blocked four shots in the first five minutes and Arkansas intercepted a couple of fancy passes inside.

Arkansas was 2-of-12 from long range, but that was only No. 2 on the list of killer statistics. No. 1 was 11-of-20 from the free throw line in the second half. At the other end, Bucknell made 10-of-14 from the line, but three of those misses were in the final 30 seconds and provided the Razorbacks with tantalizing opportunities.

Ronnie Brewer rebounded Bettencourt's second miss, but Brewer, who was 3-of-9, missed what might be his final shot as a Razorback from inside 15 feet with 15 seconds play. Badmus swiped the rebound from Vincent Hunter and made the two free throws that wiped out any question about the tip time on Sunday.

A half-hour after the game, Heath walked along the concourse, steps ahead of Modica, Brewer, and Hill, to do the obligatory interviews. Outside the media room, they had to wait. Bucknell was still dictating the pace.

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.Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media Group's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com.