Tennessee continues hot play with win over Hogs

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Posted 6:57AM on Thursday, February 14, 2002

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - Tennessee coach Buzz Peterson, who once played for Nolan Richardson, can understand the Arkansas coach's struggles this season. Both teams came into Wednesday night's game trying to get above .500 in Southeastern Conference play and build a winning streak. Tennessee (13-11, 6-5) slowed down the pace and managed to score enough despite the Razorbacks' effective zone and pressing defense to end up with a 64-53 victory. The Volunteers were coming off a 72-54 loss to South Carolina in their last game and were without starting point guard Jenis Grindstaff, who was sick. ``Arkansas right now is doing a little searching. We've been through that too. It's amazing. If you just stay together, something good is going to happen. They'll get it turned around.'' Richardson coached a team of high school and college players in the 1981 National Sports Festival. Peterson was on the team, and Richardson made him captain. Peterson resigned, though, when Charles Barkley got into a fight with Bobby Lee Hurt, and Richardson told Peterson to break it up. ``Dean Smith, Roy Williams, Eddie Fogler - those guys and Nolan Richardson I have the highest respect for,'' Peterson said. ``They've been around and have been very helpful in my basketball career.'' Arkansas (12-10, 4-6), which has only won twice in the last nine games, lost for the fourth straight time in Knoxville despite holding the Vols to just 7-of-21 shooting from the field in the second half. Marcus Haislip scored 20 points and Thaydeus Holden added 13, including five points in the last 2:10 as Tennessee held on for the win. Free-throw shooting also helped the Vols, who were 21-of-25 while the Razorbacks were just 4-of-7. Tennessee didn't miss from the foul line in the first half. ``Tennessee played very well. They shot free throws unbelieveably, making 14 straight without missing,'' Richardson said. ``It's the same old story - we don't get there enough.'' Arkansas, which trailed the entire game, cut the lead to six points after reserve Jannero Pargo made three straight baskets. His 3 with 4:24 left got the Razorbacks to within 57-51. Meanwhile, Tennessee didn't make a field goal for a little over six minutes, but Arkansas couldn't get any closer. Derek Stribling broke the drought with a driving layup with 2:54 remaining, and Holden hit a 3 to push the lead back to 11. On the next inbounds, Holden got behind Arkansas' press and scored an uncontested dunk with 1:26 left. Vincent Yarbrough added 14 points for Tennessee, which is above .500 in the conference for the first time since its first league game this season. Arkansas was led by J.J. Sullinger with 13 points, while Pargo added 10 points and was just 2-of-8 from beyond the arc. Tennessee went ahead 44-31 with 19:17 left but didn't score again until Yarbrough's 3-pointer more than six minutes later. The Vols actually scored in between but only because of a goal-tending charge. Even though Pargo is one of the best 3-point shooters in the SEC at 3.4 averaged a game, Richardson did not let him start. Richardson frequently changes the lineup, and Pargo isn't able to practice much because of tendinitis in his knee.