Jeremiah Wilkinson and Blue Cain combined for 38 points to help propel No. 21 Georgia to a 90-76 victory over No. 17 Arkansas on Saturday in Southeastern Conference play at Athens, Ga.
With the game tied at 70 with 5:52 remaining, Georgia scored 10 unanswered points – including a pair of 3-pointers from Wilkinson and two baskets by Cain – to withstand an Arkansas comeback that eliminated a 19-point second-half deficit. Arkansas never got closer than eight points.
Wilkinson scored 20 points with four 3-pointers and Cain, coming off a season-low three-point performance against Ole Miss, scored 18 on 8-for-12 shooting.
Georgia (15-3, 3-2 SEC) also got 15 points and five assists from Kanon Catchings and 11 points from Jake Wilkins. Somto Cyril blocked a career-high seven shots, giving him 52 this season.
Arkansas (13-5, 3-2) was led by Darius Acuff Jr. with 20 points on 7-for-16 shooting, six rebounds and six assists. Billy Richmond III had 12 points and eight rebounds and Malique Ewin had 12 points and seven rebounds.
The win ended Georgia’s two-game losing streak to Arkansas and improved its home record to 11-1.
Georgia took advantage of three Arkansas turnovers and jumped out to an 11-0 lead, punctuated by Cain’s slam dunk with 16:54 left. The Bulldogs led by as many as 17 when Wilkinson’s 3-pointer expanded the lead to 31-14. It was one of six 3-pointers Georgia hit in the final 10:33 and allowed the Bulldogs to withstand an 8-0 Arkansas run to hold a 45-32 lead at halftime.
The Razorbacks, who came back from a 12-point halftime deficit to win last year’s game, against Georgia, used the same script on Saturday. A 20-3 run – including runs of 11-0 and 9-0 — cut Georgia’s lead to 62-61 at 8:27 on a bucket by D.J. Wagner. The Hogs tied the game at 68 with 6:23 left on a 3-pointer by Acuff and again at 70 on a pair of Acuff free throws.
Georgia celebrated the 30th anniversary of the 1996 team that reached the Sweet 16, the program’s second-best NCAA Tournament performance.
–Field Level Media
