An Arkansas layup had an interesting aftermath at the end of Winthrop’s upset bid. (Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images)
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / Reuters)
No. 21 Arkansas scored the go-ahead basket with 11 seconds remaining to avoid a home upset at the hands of Winthrop on Tuesday. And then things got weird.
With the Razorbacks down 83-82, star freshman Meleek Thomas found senior big man Nick Pringle in transition for a layup, which was contested by Winthrop’s Seifeldin Hendawy. As the ball moved through the hoop, a few things happened:
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Hendawy falling onto the court under the basket
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Winthrop’s Logan Duncomb reaching his arms out for the ball as it left the net
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Pringle’s head ending up between Duncomb’s arms
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Duncomb getting his feet tangled with Pringle’s foot and Hendawy’s body
That unhappy combination resulted in Duncomb and Pringle falling down together, with it looking like Duncomb threw him down wrestling style. Pringle certainly appeared to think there was intent in the moment, as he grabbed Duncomb by the jersey then shoved him back down to the court as teammates and officials intervened.
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The fracas resulted in offsetting technicals for Pringle and Duncomb, so no free throws either way, as well as four players being ejected for leaving the bench. Arkansas head coach John Calipari took issue with the latter aspect while speaking with reporters after the game:
“Leaving the bench? You don’t know that. Well, thank god they left the bench too, or we lose the game.”
“You just can’t push. Just leave it alone. We had 19 guys on the court, they had 17 guys on the court. It’s not what you want to see for an ending, but what would have been worse was if it was only us or it was a technical.”
Winthrop still got the ball back. Fortunately for Calipari and the Razorbacks, Daylen Berry missed the would-be game-winner on the next play, allowing them to avoid the upset.
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Pringle took accountability for the incident:
“Things happen. I don’t think it was anything serious or intentional. It was all in the moment. Definitely apologized to my team going back to the huddle, can’t have those in bigger games. Just live and learn from it, that’s all we can do now.”
That Pringle layup capped off a significant Arkansas comeback. Duncomb had put Winthrup up by five points with two minutes left, but two baskets from Pringle and one from Darius Acuff Jr. moved the Razorbacks out of upset territory.
Arkansas’ lone loss this season remains a three-point defeat against No. 17 Michigan State on the road. However, Tuesday was the second straight game the Razorbacks were in a surprisingly close game against a mid-major opponent, having beat Samford 79-75 on Friday.
