Arkansas 87, Hartford 55

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) Arkansas coach Stan Heath counseled his Razorbacks to avoid a letdown before taking their holiday break.<br> <br> They apparently heeded the warning. Ronnie Brewer tied a career high with 23 points Thursday night as Arkansas coasted to an 87-55 victory over Hartford and set a school record for most wins before Christmas.<br> <br> The Razorbacks (10-1) had the range against the Hawks (2-5), hitting 58 percent of their field goal attempts. Arkansas also got 26 points off 20 turnovers and limited the Hawks to 35 percent shooting.<br> <br> No Hartford player scored more than nine points. Arkansas led by as many as 41 points nearly tripling Hartford&#39;s point total at 62-21 and at one point in the second half, Brewer alone had outscored Hartford 22-21.<br> <br> ``I felt our first half performance was excellent, but we let down in the second half,&#39;&#39; Heath said. ``These games are hard before Christmas.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Razorbacks pressured the Hawks early and often and opened up a 45-18 lead at halftime.<br> <br> Arkansas relied on strong perimeter shooting for many points at the outset, eventually connecting on 13-of-20 three-point attempts overall. Four of the Razorbacks&#39; first six baskets were made from behind the arc as Arkansas jumped out to a 16-10 lead.<br> <br> Hartford, meanwhile, had trouble setting up its halfcourt offense. Playing man-to-man defense while occasionally flashing a zone press during the first half, the Razorbacks forced the Hawks to commit 14 turnovers and held them to 32 percent shooting from the field.<br> <br> Midway through the first half, Eric Ferguson made a steal near mid-court and then tightroped the sideline before scoring on a lay-up. Moments later, Brewer stole the ball from Aaron Cook, drove to the basket and soared for a one-handed dunk to give the Razorbacks a 25-14 advantage with 8:00 left in the half.<br> <br> Jonathon Modica came off the bench to contribute 17 points, matching Ferguson&#39;s output, and Ferguson also grabbed 7 rebounds. Darian Townes added 11 points for Arkansas.<br> <br> ``It was a great team effort and we played extremely well,&#39;&#39; Heath said. ``I thought Ronnie and Eric played outstanding. They were hitting the open shots and Modica did very well in the paint.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Cook led the Hawks with 9 points.<br> <br> With Rashard Sullivan and Steven Hill closing down the paint and preventing Hartford&#39;s guards from feeding their post players, the Hawks suffered a long scoring drought, making only 2 points over more than 8 minutes before Trevor Goode dunked the ball with 16 seconds left in the half.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2004/12/144541