Keyon Menifield and El Ellis scored 15 points each to lead five double-figure scorers as Arkansas outlasted Georgia 78-75 in a Southeastern Conference matchup Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.
Makhi Mitchell added 14 points, Travon Mark chipped in 13 — including a including a free throw with less than a second left — and Jalen Graham scored 11 for the 12th-place Razorbacks (12-11, 3-7 SEC).
Silas Demary Jr with 18 points led the Bulldogs (14-10, 4-7), who are 11th in the SEC and have lost five in a row. Justin Hill added 18 points and Russel Tchewa had 10.
Arkansas grabbed a 44-32 lead in the first three minutes of the second half, but the Bulldogs, after a cold opening period, started finding the range to close with 55-53 with 7:43 remaining.
When the Hogs missed four consecutive free throws, Georgia was able to complete a 20-9 run and tie the game at 55-55 with 7:24 on the clock.
The two teams were tied four times after that before Hill’s 3-pointer with 3:57 left gave the Bulldogs their first lead since the 8:58 mark of the first half at 66-65.
The two teams went back and forth exchanging one-point leads and were tied for the 15th time, 72-72, entering the final minute. Jabri Abdur-Rahim and Blue Cain missed 3-pointers for Georgia and Mitchell (layup and two free throws) and Devo Davis (one of two free throws) put the Hogs up 77-72 with 9.7 seconds left.
Hill hit three free throws with three seconds left to end Georgia’s scoring.
Arkansas went on a 10-0 scoring run to counter a 9-2 Georgia surge to assume a 30-25 lead at the 2:18 mark of the first half. The Bulldogs went more than four minutes without a field goal (0-of-11) but managed to stay with 34-29 at the break despite shooting only 35.7 percent overall and 1-of-12 on 3-pointers in the first half.
The Hogs (14-of-30) were just a basket off the 50 percent mark from the field and owned a 12-1 advantage in points off seven Georgia turnovers. Arkansas finished with a 21-8 lead in the category after committing eight turnovers against Georgia’s 1-3-1 zone defense in the second half.
–Field Level Media
