Arkansas 61, S. Illinois 53, OT

Thursday, November 23rd 2006, 3:58 pm

By: News On 6

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) _ Charles Thomas scored 16 points and Arkansas made 14 straight free throws in the final minutes to rally for a 61-53 victory Thursday over Southern Illinois in the Old Spice Classic at Disney World.

The Razorbacks (3-0) made one field goal in the last eight minutes of regulation and only added one more in the extra period, yet were able to not only hold off Southern Illinois (2-1) but pull away by completely shutting down the Salukis.

Patrick Beverley, Gary Ervin and Darian Townes scored 12 apiece for Arkansas.

Jamaal Tatum, who led Southern Illinois with 17 points, made one of two free throws for Southern Illinois with 7.4 seconds remaining to tie the game at 53-all. It went to overtime when Beverley missed a 20-footer for Arkansas at the buzzer.

It was all Razorbacks in the extra period.

Sonny Weems made two free throws to put them ahead for good, and Southern Illinois had four turnovers and missed all three of its shots from the field in overtime.

Arkansas made 20-of-26 from the foul line, including 15 of its last 16 attempts.