Nick Pringle’s go-ahead bucket lifts Hogs over Eagles
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It took some late-game theatrics, like a Jordan-esque steal from Meleek Thomas and a breakaway layup by Nick Pringle, followed by a double-technical foul that ended with four players ejected at the end of the Razorbacks’ 84-83 win over Winthrop on Tuesday night at Bud Walton Arena.
“Just a high-intensity game,” Pringle said postgame. “Things happen. I don’t think it was nothing really serious or intense, it was just all in the moment. Definitely apologized to my team going back to the huddle. Can’t have those in bigger games. So just live and learn from it, and that’s all we can do right now.”
The crowd was sparse, as has been the case for most home games this season, but they got loud when it counted. The Razorbacks and Eagles kept pace with each other for most of the game, neither team leading by more than eight points. The scary hours started in the final two minutes of the game when Winthrop jumped out to a five-point lead.
Arkansas erased that lead with a 6-0 run that would put it ahead for good, thanks to Pringle’s layup with 11 seconds left. Pringle scored a bucket down low to start the run, then Brazile blocked a shot that led to a runout layup by Acuff.
The Hogs took the lead after Thomas reached around and forced a turnover that looked eerily similar to Michael Jordan against the Utah Jazz in Game 6, which led to a fast-break layup by Pringle.
What followed after could have been disaster, though. Pringle was dragged to the ground by Logan Duncomb, who had him in a headlock the whole way down. Pringle promptly got up and grabbed Duncomb’s jersey, which resulted in a double-technical foul. Isaiah Sealy and D.J. Wagner left the bench and were ejected, as was Pharrell Boyogueno and Ed Nnamoko for Winthrop.
“We felt like we weren’t supposed to be in that position,” Trevon Brazile said postgame. “We knew we were giving up too many threes. It was just do or die time, just try to get a stop. Luckily, it worked out in our favor
Those offsetting fouls gave Winthrop the ball with 11 seconds left, but Daylen Berry’s game-winning jumper fell short.
Pringle has huge bounce back game
The main topic of conversation was Meleek Thomas, who finished with 26 points, but Pringle’s play was a big spark for the Hogs, and one that they had been missing.
Pringle finished the game with 13 points and seven rebounds to go along with two blocks in 28 minutes of action. The game came after a zero-point, one-rebound outing against Samford.
“We’ve got to keep going with him, and we got to keep doing stuff,” Calipari said. “And I got to get— he gives us that, but we got to have these other guys. Got to be more physical. You’re going to have to understand it’s the way the game is.”
One of the more impressive aspects of Pringle’s performance was that he went a perfect 5-for-5 from the field. He had the second-highest plus/minus on the team (9) behind Trevon Brazile, who finished with a 10.
The Razorbacks have one more game left in their four-game homestand and will host Jackson State on Friday.
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