ATHENS, Ga. -- Six NBA teams had scouts at Tuesday night's game in Stegeman Coliseum.
The Cavaliers, Clippers, Hawks, Heat, Nets and Wizards no doubt were scouting Georgia 6-8 senior forward Yante Maten -- who came into the game leading the SEC in scoring (19.6) and rebounding (9.1). They also likely wanted to get a look at Daniel Gafford, the Arkansas Razorbacks' athletic 6-11 freshman.
But it was Razorbacks 6-8 senior Trey Thompson who had the final word inside.
Thompson blocked a shot by Maten with 2.2 seconds left to preserve what became an 80-77 double-overtime victory for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville after Daryl Macon hit two free throws with one second left.
If Maten, who had 26 points and 15 rebounds, had scored a last-second basket, Georgia would have taken a 79-78 lead.
Thompson came off his man to play help defense on Maten.
"To me, that's an IQ thing by Trey," Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson said. "He was in the right place at the right time.
"Daniel is a freshman, and he may not have been there. But Trey, because of his basketball IQ, it put him in that spot. He anticipated what was going to happen."
Thompson saw that Anton Beard, a 6-0 senior guard, was trying to guard Maten.
"It was a scramble," Thompson said. "Ton was down on the block on a mismatch, and he gave me a split second to come down there and help him.
"You can't stop a player like Maten. We just tried to make it tough for him. We made a play at the end."
Asked about the play after the game, Maten credited Thompson for making a clean block on him.
It was Thompson's 13th blocked shot this season, but second of the game. He has 68 career blocks.
"I don't know where Trey came from, but that was a big play when he blocked Maten at the end," Arkansas senior guard Daryl Macon said. "That's probably the biggest play Trey has made."
Thomas plays
Arkansas senior forward Dustin Thomas, who dressed out against Ole Miss on Saturday but didn't play, made some key plays for the Razorbacks at Georgia.
Thomas had 8 points, 2 steals and 1 rebound in 29 minutes off the bench.
"He came in and gave us quality, big-time minutes," Coach Mike Anderson said of Thomas.
After the Ole Miss game, Anderson said Thomas was healthy and not suspended, and that it was simply a coach's decision not to play him.
The Ole Miss game is the only time in two seasons at Arkansas that Thomas dressed out for a game but didn't play. He missed the first three games this season because of a disciplinary suspension.
Thomas redshirted at Arkansas during the 2015-2016 season after transferring from Colorado.
Gafford scoreless
Arkansas forward Daniel Gafford, the SEC Freshman of the Week after averaging 14.5 points and 10.0 rebounds against Florida and Ole Miss, was held scoreless for the first time in 20 games this season.
Gafford finished 0 of 3 from the field and didn't attempt a free throw in 27 minutes. His previous scoring low was five points against North Carolina.
Lost point
Georgia lost a point with 16:41 left in the second half.
Senior Juwan Parker made two free throws, but the second make was disallowed because the Bulldogs were called for a lane violation.
If the point had counted, Georgia would have been ahead 37-35.
The lost point loomed large considering the game went two overtimes.
Not half bad
Georgia had allowed an opponent to shoot better than 60 percent from the field in a half twice in the past 22 games.
Both times the opponent was Arkansas.
The Razorbacks shot 66.9 percent in the second half (14 of 23) on Tuesday night.
Arkansas shot 60.6 percent (20 of 33) in the second half of an 85-67 victory over Georgia in the regular-season finale at Walton Arena last season.
The Razorbacks finished 29 of 60 (48.3 percent) from the field Tuesday after starting 3 of 17.
Georgia came into the game leading the SEC in field goal defense at 38.2 percent.
Arkansas shot higher against the Bulldogs than any other SEC team this season.
Before Tuesday, the best shooting by an SEC team against Georgia this season had been 43.4 percent (23 of 53) by LSU when the Bulldogs beat the Tigers 61-60 in Baton Rouge.
Hard-nosed Hogs
Georgia Coach Mark Fox praised Arkansas after the game, in which the Bulldogs couldn't hold a 16-point lead they built in the first half.
"Arkansas has a really hard-nosed, competitive team," Fox said. "We have a lot of respect for Arkansas. I thought both teams really competed hard for 50 minutes and we just came up one play short."
Vs. Georgia
Arkansas improved to 22-15 all-time against Georgia, including 5-10 in Athens.
The teams didn't play before Arkansas joined the SEC for the 1991-1992 season.
Tuesday night's game marked the Razorbacks' second victory in their past three trips to Georgia. Arkansas beat the Bulldogs 79-75 at Stegeman Coliseum in 2015 and lost 76-73 in overtime in 2016.
Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson is 8-3 against Georgia.
Sports on 01/24/2018