College Basketball

Arcell Marks, Arkansas Baptist basketball coach, might have intended to put some money in his pocket by splitting up his team to play two games in one night, said W.T. Keaton, Arkansas Baptist College president. But Keaton said Marks has been forgiven and, for now, will not be fired.

“I’ve been in this business a while and I’ve never had mercy extended to me,” Marks said. “I am grateful for him extending mercy.”

Three times this year, Arkansas Baptist’s basketball team has played two games on the same night at sites hundreds of miles apart. Keaton had said previously that it was embarrassing and that he wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again.

“He became victimized, overzealous . . . at the same time possibly picking up a few dollars for himself,” Keaton said of Marks. “That’s the way it is when you try to overdo.”

Keaton said Marks admitted that he had done wrong “and he has assured me . . . that it will never happen again if he’s given another chance.”