Razorbacks win 2004 men's championship
Arkansas cruises past Eastern Michigan in final

By Michael Potter
Virgin Island Daily News
11/23/2004

ST. THOMAS - Proudly decked in out in red, a large and lively group of dedicated Arkansas fans turned the University of the Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness Center into a pig sty on Monday night.

Raining down Southern-accented chants of "sooey," they invited their team to indulge its appetite for destruction.

The Razorbacks heartily gorged themselves at the championship trough, feasting on overmatched Eastern Michigan, 82-64, in the Paradise Jam title game.

Eastern Michigan showed they have the athleticism to run with Arkansas but could not match the torrid scoring pace set by the Razorbacks. Arkansas shot better than 54 percent from the floor to lay claim to the 2004 Paradise Jam title in front of a tournament record crowd of 3,014.

Junior guard Eric Ferguson led the Razorbacks with 20 points, and tournament Most Valuable Player Ronnie Brewer scored 18 and dealt six assists. Jonathan Modica finished with 14 points.

"It wasn't as crisp and clean as I would have liked, but I'm proud of my guys," Arkansas head coach Stan Heath said. "When we needed to make some plays, we did."
From the start, Heath's Razorbacks left no doubt they intended to leave with the championship trophy. The Razorbacks could do no wrong, tracking down every loose ball, finding every open spot and knocking down shots at a better than 66 percent clip. The entire cast for Arkansas poured it on, with Brewer, Ferguson and Modica all scoring in double figures before halftime.

The only advantage for Eastern Michigan came at the foul line, where 18 first-half free throws kept them within shouting distance of Arkansas before the Eagles were eventually buried by an ever-quickening torrent of Razorback baskets.

With Eastern Michigan trailing, 20-16, midway through the half, the Razorbacks broke out behind their perimeter firepower. Four consecutive 3-pointers - one each by Michael Jones, Olu Famutimi, Ferguson and Dontell Jefferson - driving a 12-3 burst to make it a 32-19 Arkansas advantage.

Brewer made it 40-23 with a 3-point play of his own with a basket and foul with 4:55 left. A dunk by Ferguson stretched the lead to 21 points and pushed the Arkansas total to 50 with 2:24 to go in the half, putting the Razorbacks on pace to shatter the tournament record for most points in a game.

"We knew if we started hitting on offense and getting the ball inside, it would open up the perimeter game." Brewer said. "On defense, we knew if we got their post guy into foul trouble, we could control the game."

Arkansas accomplished that, drawing the fourth foul on gritty Eastern Michigan forward John Bowler less than six minutes into the second half. Bowler finished with 13 points.
Arkansas fell off their frenetic pace in the second half, falling short of the Miami's tournament record of 93 points scored during the 2001 tournament. Eastern Michigan closed to within 63-52 before the Razorbacks shut the door and re-assumed command of the game.

[View Article at www.virginislanddailynews.com]

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