Hogs cruise to an easy win over Alabama State with 76-51 victory | Sports

By Marshall Laney

The Razorbacks moved to 5-5 Wednesday night on a three-game winning streak after beating a sloppy Alabama State team 76-51.

The absence of Rotnei Clark was shadowed by a strong performance from Michael Washington who led scoring on the night putting up a season high 22 points with eight rebounds.

Washington’s strong play down low could not have come at a better time as many Hog fans have begun to question his contribution to the team.

Washington is a key aspect of a young team that desperately needs some leadership since he is one of the only players with big game SEC experience. This may be the turning point for the Hogs as the offense ran smoothly around the key and came up with several second chance points.

The Hogs jumped off to an early lead and never looked back. They’ve had real trouble late in games against some competitive teams. But with Washington putting up 15 of his 22 in the first half the game, the situation looked quite in hand as they went into the break with a 36-19 lead.

Things only got better in the second half as the Hogs got big points from both Marcus Britt and Marshawn Powell and the lead grew to 27 points.

Alabama State did get have some promising play from senior guard Menji Mundadi as he put up 21 points in the game to lead the scoring for the Hornets. But failing to convert on one single two-point field goal in the first half put the Hornets in a hole they were never likely to get out of.

For the Hogs, this win put them back at 500. For the first time since November 24th when they were 2-2.

Needless to say it was a much-needed win, not only the confidence of the young players, but also for the fans who have a strong voice in who will be coaching at Bud Walton next season.

That being said coach Pelphrey will definitely be looking for Rotnei Clark to return to the starting lineup as his 21.1 points per game are badly missed

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