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No. 23 Arkansas tops Georgia in SEC opener

Jan 7, 2015 - 6:39 AM Athens, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - Bobby Portis had a game-high 21 points as No. 23 Arkansas opened SEC play with a close 79-75 victory over Georgia on Tuesday.

Michael Qualls finished with 17 points and seven rebounds and Alandise Harris supplied 15 points, three boards and three steals for the Razorbacks (12-2, 1-0 SEC), who won their sixth straight game.

Nemanja Djurisic had 16 points and seven rebounds and Marcus Thornton and Juwan Parker each netted 11 as the Bulldogs' (9-4, 0-1) six-game winning streak came to an end.

"That was a high-level game," said Georgia coach Mark Fox. "You have to give Arkansas a lot of credit. I thought they played very well and very determined. I thought we played really hard, but we didn't get the stops we needed to get."

Arkansas took advantage of their opponents' cold shooting in the second half. Anthlon Bell's triple got them within a point, Anton Beard was true from beyond to tie the game at 61-61 with 8:52 to play and after two fruitless possessions from Georgia, Harris put them ahead with a jumper.

Charles Mann split a pair of free throws and Yante Maten's layup represented the Bulldogs' first field goal in 7:22 as Georgia led 64-63 with 5:52 left.

Harris, however, supplied a jumper and a 3-pointer during a 7-0 swing as Arkansas reclaimed the lead.

Mann's layup got Georgia within 74-70 with 1:22 to play, but Qualls threw down a dunk and split a pair of free throws with 19 seconds remaining for a seven- point lead.

J.J. Frazier knocked down a 3-pointer and Thornton tipped the ball in to make it 77-75 with four seconds remaining, but Qualls cool knocked down both of his shots at the foul line to seal the win.

Parker made a 3-pointer to start the game as Georgia jumped out to a 5-0 lead and the Bulldogs' advantage increased to 16-8 on Maten's layup nearly six minutes into the game.

Jacorey Williams' jumper past the midway point cut Arkansas' deficit to five points, but Kenny Paul Geno knocked down a trey and Frazier followed with a layup for a 28-18 score.

Kenny Gaines' triple ended a 10-2 burst for the Bulldogs, making it a 38-25 game with 4:33 left in the first half and Georgia took a 44-37 lead into halftime.

Game Notes

The Razorbacks now hold a 19-14 advantage in the all-time series ... Georgia outrebounded Arkansas, 40-25 ... Arkansas shot 51.7 percent from the floor, while Georgia shot 45.5 percent.