Bill's Blog: Bonus Basketball Blog II

7:07 p.m. — That’s the final score, Arkansas 95, Northwestern 56. Andre Clark ends it with a flourish and a huge three-point blocked shot. Remember, next blog for the men’s basketball team is Dec. 30 for Oklahoma. Razorback women’s basketball will stream live on Monday, Dec. 29, at 7 p.m. here on the website. And, don’t forget to vote for the Razorbacks in the Pontiac Game Changing Play finals — www.pontiac.com/espn.

7:05 p.m. — Noland with the foul. Turnovers by the guys near the end look like they will foil the run for 100. Only 35 seconds left now, and it’s 93-55.

7:05 p.m. — Side notes in the stats — Sanchez goes for 10 rebounds tonight; Welsh has 27 points on the bench to lead all.

7:04 p.m. — Demons go to a full-court press against that line-up. Still 93-54 with 1:32 left.

7:03 p.m. — Five on the floor for Arkansas are Mason, Monk, Moore, Cox and Clark — Noland now replaces Brandon Moore. 1:55 left and seven points to go.

7:03 p.m. — Nick Mason has now checked in

7:02 p.m. — Loose ball handled by Pelphrey. Moore gets the layup on the ensuing restart — now we’re on seven.

7:01 p.m.. — Still sitting on nine.

7:00 p.m. — So why was tonight a bonus basketball blog? On first look at the schedule, we thought ESPN2 wouldn’t be a good game, but due to response from fans, we decided to add it back in. By the way, next blog will be the OU game on Dec. 30.

6:58 p.m. — Loose ball team rebound takes us to the final media time out at 3:32. Razorbacks are nine points from 100. The season high is 98 this year.

6:57 p.m. — Demon fast break ends with an Alley oops. Razorbacks take it back up court, and Brandon Moore brings us to 91-50 with 3:45 left.

6:55 p.m. — Michael McConathy gets his fifth — Demon #3 to exit. At the line is Marcus Britt. He gets it to 89-49, 4:51 to play.

6:54 p.m. — A Clarke driving layup gets wiped off by a Clark goal tending. Still sitting on 88. John Paul Noland just checked in.

6:53 p.m. — Brandon Moore with the lay-in, and Keithan Hancock gets his fifth personal foul. Moore’s shot takes us to 88, but just 88 with a FT miss. 5:40 to go.

6:52 p.m. — The countdown to 100 points begins; Clark hits a free throw — 86-49 with 6:21 left to play.

6:51 p.m. — Razorback women’s basketball team is back in action on Monday with Western Illinois. So with tonight’s game, does this make a sweep of Northwestern?

6:50 p.m. — Quick substitution timeout for Arkansas.

6:50 p.m. — Marcus Monk muscles in for his first two points since returning to the Razorbacks; Arkansas 85-47.

6:46 p.m. — Stefan Welsh stops and spins awkwardly on his left ankle. He’s slow to get up, but bears weight as he walks off the floor with Dave England, Razorback trainer. Now that he’s on the bench, might be a muscle pull more than an ankle twist. Either way, he’s stretching his leg and getting loose like he’ll be back later in the game.

6:44 p.m. — While the teams trade fast-break turnovers, let me remind you that Arkansas has made the finals of the Pontiac Game Changing Play of the Year. Vote now to give the Razorbacks the $100K prize, dedicated for veteran’s scholarships.

6:41 p.m. — Ladies and gentlemen of the ESPN viewing audience — he is Courtney Fortson. First the near miracle circus throw back to Washington, then a post-up muscle in layup off the inbounds. 81-45.

6:39 p.m. — It’s getting a little chippy. An intentional foul on Fortson from McConathy, and the teams get close for a brief moment. The officials keep control of the emotions on the floor, and Fortson gets one of two, 74-43.

6:34 p.m. — Clark fights his way through for a rebound an basket after a couple of rough contact shot alterations; both benches standing over the rough play. Takes us to the second media timeout, Razorbacks holding their 30-point margin, 73-43.

6:33 p.m. — NSU head coach getting a little frazzled.

6:31 p.m. — Pace getting a little ragged, as you might suspect.

6:24 p.m. — That turnover to Demon three-pointer won’t help the mood; we go to the first media time out of the second half, 62-35 Arkansas. Anticipate some coaching to occur during this huddle.

6:23 p.m. — Here’s what you’ve got to like about Pel — Razorbacks are up 30, 62-32, and he calls his second time out of the half because, one has to guess, he’s not really happy with the intensity.

6:22 p.m. — Credit Northwestern for being pesky. William Mosley just drew Washington’s fourth personal foul, so he’ll take a seat.

6:21 p.m. — A nice 360 reverse by Devon White — right into Michael Washington. Washington rejects the shot with authority, but is called for the body contact. Razorbacks up 59-32 after the throws.

6:17 p.m. — Pair of three-pointers by NSU and Coach Pel wants to have a chat with Arkansas. Razorback timeout.

6:12 p.m. — Back underway

5:57 p.m. — C.J. Clarke gets the go to halftime dunk, Razorbacks lead however, 54-25.

5:55 p.m. — Without a doubt, the most acrobatic non-play of the year. Fortson goes up off a break looking for the dunk, gets interfered with — not a foul, not a block-charge, not a blocked shot — but comes tumbling to the floor with the ball in the air and one unidentified Demon player. Fortson rolls out of the collision like some late 70s cop show (think Starsky over the top of the old gold Torreno) with the ball bounding free along side him. Goes out of bounds off the Demons.

5:53 p.m. — Another charge, this time taken by Michael Sanchez — that’s 16 team fouls on the Demons. Razorbacks have six. It translates into a 16-of-20 vs. 2-of-4 advantage at the free throw line for Arkansas.

5:50 p.m. — Welsh takes a charge, great set-up on the baseline. Razorbacks break half century with 51-23 lead; extend to 53-23 with an Andre Clark jumper.

5:47 p.m. — Remember, next game for the Razorback men’s basketball team is Dec. 30 with Oklahoma; another TV game so no live video stream for that contest.

5:46 p.m. — Demons are one second shy of three full minutes without a score before C.J. Clark’s dunk, 49-23 takes us to the final media time out of the half.

5:43 p.m. — Back-to-back fast break layups from Marcus Britt extend Arkansas’ lead to 49-21. Northwestern burns another time out.

5:39 p.m. — Washington shows shot, then fakes the dish before reversing toward the bucket. He brings down a swinging dunk, hanging momentarily to avoid crushing a Demon defender who made a last second attempt at a charge. 41-21.

5:36 p.m. — Third media time out of the first half. The name should ring a bell as both sons of NSU’s head coach Mike McConathy are on the squad. Logan’s a sophomore while Michael is a junior. Razorbacks up 39-18; 2:08 since the last time NSU scored.

5:35 p.m. — Logan McConathy at the line for NSU — Quick, what’s significant about that?

5:34 p.m. — Both teams are shooting in the 50’s from the field; but killer for NSU is turnovers — 13 to only 3 for Arkansas. Now the 10th Demon foul puts Arkansas at the line for two the rest of the half — 8:18.

5:33 p.m. — Rotnei’s steal and layup force a timeout from NSU — this is now an 11-2 run and the Demons are starting to wither under the Razorbacks’ pressure.

5:32 p.m. — Andre Clark rejects and collects Kalem Poterie’s layup, then earns the third foul of McConathy on the other end. Clark gets one of two and the Hogs are on a run.

5:31 p.m. — Washington throws down a Hog Call inducing slam dunk, 31-18.

5:29 p.m. — Marcus Britt becomes the third Razorback to hit a three, NSU counters with a three, Stephan Welsh gets his second three and the volley almost continues but the Demons had a foot on the line; 29-18.

5:28 p.m. — Washington gets double-teamed by the Demons, and he makes a heads-up dish to Brandon Moore cutting down the lane for an uncontested layup — 23-12, first double digit lead of the day.

5:26 p.m. — Free throw line is the story of the game so far; Arkansas is 7-of-9 (compared to only five made field goals) while NSU has a lone free throw. Arkansas leads 19-12 here at the second media timeout.

5:24 p.m. — Keithan Hancock bites hard on Clarke’s show-shot, he leaps into the air and becomes a member of the paratrooper club landing on top of Clarke — Arkansas will be shooting some free throws when we come back from this timeout.

5:23 p.m. — Demons are quick enough to escape some of Arkansas’ traps on pure speed, but are not hitting the open looks.

5:22 p.m. — Why no live video stream today? Today’s game is RSP, but it is also on ESPN2 — so they take priority for any live streams.

5:21 p.m. — Demons countering Arkansas’ pressure by spreading, but when trapped are struggling.

5:20 p.m. — Another Arkansas fastbreak results in another Demon foul — that’s six already. NSU seems intent on stopping Arkansas’ open court ability with pure physicality on the defensive end.

5:19 p.m. — Welsh strokes one from right in front of the NSU bench for a six-pack (back-to-back threes) and the Razorbacks lead 15-10. The Demons’ pack in defense won’t work if the Razorbacks heat up from outside.

5:18 p.m. — Rotnei Clarke uses every bit of the rim as he takes a lap with his shot, but it falls for a three-pointer.

5:17 p.m. — Another NSU turnover, but it leads to a rough block of Washington that meets with crowd disapproval. Demons get a goal-tending bucket on the other end to regain the lead, 10-9.

5:15 p.m. — A great crowd at Bud Walton Arena considering both the holiday and the weather. It was wicked rough this morning with a strong thunderstorm line passing through with some 40-50 winds and heavy rain. It’s all cleared off, but its turning winter traditional cold outside at tipoff.

5:14 p.m. — First media time out, and while Arkansas leads, 9-8, it’s an unusual 7-0 run for the Razorbacks. Fortson’s layup at the start of the run is the only field goal — the rest at the free throw line. On the other hand, Demons haven’t scored since 18:02 (clock sits idle at 15:57 right now) and their initial 8-0 run to lead.

5:13 p.m. — Another Demon foul — that’s five in the first three and a half minutes. Razorbacks get one of two, and now lead, 9-8.

5:11 p.m. — Courtney Fortson now at the line for a pair as the Demons are fouling machines early. He gets one of two to tie the game.

5:09 p.m. — Foul on Michael McConathy of NSU puts Stephan Welsh at the line. HIs two free throws make it a 5-0 run by the Razorbacks.

5:05 p.m. — Not the best start for Arkansas as the Demons have use three-pointers to jump out to an 8-2 lead.

5:00 p.m. — Welcome to Bud Walton Arena for a bonus basketball blog. Today’s game is Northwestern State. More in a moment.