ATHENS, Ga. — Anthony Edwards scored 26 points, including nine straight in the final 67 seconds to lead Georgia to a 99-89 win over Arkansas in a Southeastern Conference game Saturday.
Georgia (15-14, 5-11) placed six players in double figures, including Rayshawn Hammonds with 22.
Arkansas (18-11, 6-10) got 26 apiece from Isaiah Joe and Mason Jones. Desi Sills added 21 but was injured with less than a minute to play and did not return to the game.
Georgia led wire to wire. Only twice after the opening seconds did Arkansas have possession with a chance to tie. The closest the Razorbacks came was a one-point deficit late in the contest.
For the first 12 minutes of the game, the Bulldogs looked like a tournament team. Georgia scored the first 14 points of the game. Arkansas coach Eric Musselman called two timeouts in the first four minutes.
The Hogs began to hit some NBA-range 3-pointers, but with 8:24 to go in the first half, Edwards hit a 3-pointer to put the Bulldogs up 36-18. Georgia was shooting 71 percent from the field and out-rebounding the Razorbacks 15-4.
The Bulldogs cooled off at the end of the half. Meanwhile, Arkansas capitalized at the free-throw line, hitting 11 of 15 to get as close as eight points. Georgia led 47-39 at halftime.
Jones, the Razorbacks leading scorer at 21.1 points per game, managed only four free throws in the first half. He missed all three field goals he attempted, including a wild layup attempt that bounced off the top of the backboard. Joe and Sills each scored 14 in the first half for Arkansas. Sills was three for four beyond the 3-point line,
Hammonds led Georgia in the first half with 17 points.
Jones broke out of his funk less than a minute into the second half, hitting a layup and a 3-pointer to pull the Razorbacks within three at 47-44. Over a three-minute stretch, Georgia answered with a four dunks, two apiece by Jordan Harris and Toumani Camara, to stretch the Bulldog lead to eight 58-50 with 14:21 to go. Harris scored 11, and Camara 10.
Jones began to attack the basket with passion, scoring four layups in a 10-2 Razorback run to narrow the margin to 73-70 with 6:59 to go. Adrio Bailey got free for a dunk with 6:11 to go to cut the gap to one, 71-70. Joe’s two free throws with 2:13 to go made it 85-84, Georgia, but Arkansas never got closer.
Jones made another attack on the basket inside of two minutes, but missed. He slipped to the floor and did not get up, watching with a grimace as Tyree Crump hit a 3-pointer on the other end to give Georgia a 90-84 lead. He watched from the bench as Georgia pulled away for the win.
BIG PICTURE
Arkansas: The Razorbacks are a bubble team and needed a win Saturday. Arkansas lost five straight games while Joe was out, but had a two-game winning streak coming in. The loss probably means to get to post-season, Arkansas will have to win the SEC Tournament.
Georgia: The win by Georgia was its third SEC victory in four games and was critical toward its goal of a first-round bye in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Georgia realistically must win the tournament to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Without a first-round bye, Georgia would have to win five games in five days.
UP NEXT
Arkansas The Razorbacks stay on the road, playing at LSU Wednesday.
Georgia The Bulldogs close out their home schedule when Florida visits Wednesday.
Earlier
Final | Georgia 99, Arkansas 89
Anthony Edwards scored 26 points for Georgia and the Bulldogs hand Arkansas a tough road loss that damages its NCAA Tournament hopes.
Rayshaun Hammonds also added 22 points for Georgia, and Tyree Crump added 14, all in the second half, on 5 of 6 from the floor and 4 of 5 from deep. Six Bulldogs players finished with 10 or more points.
Isaiah Joe and Mason Jones each scored 26 points, and Desi Sills added a career-high 21. No other Arkansas player scored more than six points. Jimmy Whitt pitched in six assists.
We'll have more from tonight's game a little bit later on WholeHogSports.com.
1:35, 2H | Georgia 90, Arkansas 84
The Razorbacks cannot stop Tyree Crump, a Bulldogs player who has scored just 13 points in his team's last three games. He has 14 points today, all in the second half. That's the ballgame right there.
3:22, 2H | Georgia 83, Arkansas 80
Mason Jones scored only four points in the first half, but his 22 second-half points have Arkansas in this one as we hit the final media stoppage of the game.
Jones is 8 of 10 from the floor and 5 of 5 at the line since the break. Isaiah Joe is up to 19 points, and Desi Sills has 21, which is a career high.
Anthony Edwards has 17 for Georgia, but Tyree Crump has arguably hit three of the biggest shots of the game for the Bulldogs. His three 3s are the difference in this game. All nine of his points have come in the second half.
Four Georgia players have scored six or more points since halftime. Sills is the only Arkansas player with more than five outside of Jones.
7:22, 2H | Georgia 73, Arkansas 68
The Bulldogs tried to pull away after Tyree Crump's second 3 of the second half put them up 71-60, but Mason Jones and Desi Sills have answered in a big way.
Sills is up to 21 points today, which is a career high, besting his previous high of 20 at Western Kentucky earlier this season. Jones has 19 points, 15 in the second half on 6 of 7 shooting. He just took Anthony Edwards off the bounce and scored over him.
Jones then looked in hid direction and gestured that he was too little. That's confidence right there.
Edwards has five points on 2 of 5 from the floor since halftime. He's taken a lot of tough jumpers today. Jimmy Whitt has checked back into the game to check him.
11:51, 2H | Georgia 63, Arkansas 55
Six of the Bulldogs' seven buckets in the second half have been either a dunk or a layup. Georgia also missed a dunk on an alley oop in transition. Tyree Crump hit a 3 from the left wing as well.
Desi Sills will be at the free throw line when play resumes. He somehow didn't get a layup to drop after drawing a whistle going off the bounce left. Sills has 16 points today, and Isaiah Joe leads with 17.
Mason Jones has a team-high seven points for Arkansas since halftime and 11 for the game.
The Razorbacks are very much in this game. It's going to come down to getting defensive stops, which haven't come easy today.
15:13, 2H | Georgia 54, Arkanas 48
Mason Jones opened the second half hot, driving to the rim for a layup and knocking down a right-wing 3 to pull the Razorbacks within four. That is as close as Arkansas has gotten so far.
Sahvir Wheeler, the Bulldogs' 5-10 guard, just scored back-to-back buckets right at the rim to keep the Razorbacks at bay. He is up to 11 points, the third Georgia player in double figures.
Jones leads Arkansas with five points since halftime, and Jimmy Whitt and Desi Sills have two points each. Sills has a team-high 16 points and Joe has 14, Jones 9.
Half | Georgia 47, Arkansas 39
The Razorbacks trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half, but closed the opening 20 minutes on a nice run after Georgia cooled off on the offensive end.
Rayshaun Hammonds lit Arkansas up for 17 points on 7 of 11 shooting. He is four points from tying his season high in conference play. He did disappear for a bit midway through the half once Adrio Bailey was assigned to him. Anthony Edwards has 10 points on 4 of 5 from the floor. All of his scores have been really challenging shots.
Isaiah Joe and Desi Sills each went for 14 points in the first half and knocked down 5 of 9 from 3. Joe was terrific on the offensive end late in the half, and Sills was great in the early going.
Mason Jones hasn't really gotten into a groove today. He has four points, all at the line, two turnovers and one block in 18 minutes.
Georgia shot 56 percent in the first half, but missed 10 of its last 14 shots, allowing Arkansas to climb back in this one. The Bulldogs knocked down 15 of their first 20 in jumping out to a 36-18 lead. They led 14-0 less than four minutes in.
Arkansas turned the ball over just twice in the first half, and both turnovers were by Jones. Georgia coughed it up only three times. Figure the Razorbacks might need to create some type of defensive havoc in the second half to pull this out.
Curious to see what kind of adjustments Eric Musselman and his staff make at the break to take Hammonds and Edwards as out of the game as possible.
4:00, 1H | Georgia 40, Arkansas 25
The Razorbacks haven't made a shot from the floor in nearly six minutes, but they're hanging within 15 thanks to a bunch of free throws. Arkansas has drawn nine fouls this half to Georgia's six.
The Bulldogs are shooting 63 percent from the floor and is 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Mason Jones and Isaiah Joe have combined for six points on 1 of 8 from the floor. They have to be better. Joe hasn't been great defensively today either.
Outside of Desi Sills, all other Arkansas players are 3 of 17 shooting.
7:32, 1H | Georgia 36, Arkansas 18
The Bulldogs are on another run, this one a 7-0 spurt to balloon their lead to 18 at the next to last media stoppage of the first half.
After a pair of Georgia free throws, Anthony Edwards hit two more tough, inefficient looks, including a deep, deep 3 from the top of the key in transition. He's also canned two long 2s from the right wing. Edwards has 10 points and Rayshaun Hammonds has a game-high 14.
Georgia has hit 15 of its first 21 shots, and the Razorbacks are 7 of 21. Mason Jones and Isaiah Joe have just two points on 1 of 7 shooting.
9:23, 1H | Georgia 29, Arkansas 18
Neither team is having a whole lot of success on the defensive end. Rayshaun Hammonds has been terrific to this point for the Bulldogs, and Desi Sills is giving Georgia buckets as well.
Hammonds has a game-high 14 points on 6 of 7 from the floor. The Bulldogs have hit 13 of his first 18 shots and 3 of their 5 triple tries. Anthony Edwards has five points on a pair of really tough shots over Jimmy Whitt.
Sills, who is averaging nine points in Arkansas' 10 true road games this season, already has 11 points on 4 of 5 from the floor and three left-wing 3s. He is now 7 of 9 from the left wing in his five games off the bench as a sophomore.
Isaiah Joe and Mason Jones are a combined 1 of 6 from the floor, and Georgia is winning the battle on the glass 12-3 so far.
16:03, 1H | Georgia 14, Arkansas 0
Sahvir Wheeler got a floater to fall in the lane, then Rayshaun Hammonds knocked down his third shot in the first four minutes, a 3 from the top of the key. Eric Musselman again calls for time.
The Razorbacks are 0 of 6 shooting, and Isaiah Joe is 0 of 3 himself. Mason Jones was also whistled for an offensive foul.
What a terrible start on the road. Arkansas was able to come back from a similar deficit at Alabama to begin the month. We'll see if the Razorbacks can recreate that.
17:02, 1H | Georgia 9, Arkansas 0
The Razorbacks can't buy a bucket on the offensive end in the early going.
Meanwhile, three Bulldogs already have scores three minutes in. Anthony Edwards hit a tough stepback 3 on the right wing over Jimmy Whitt, then Rayshaun Hammonds tip-slammed a Georgia miss in transition, forcing Eric Musselman to call for time.
Arkansas is 0 of 5 from the floor and 0 of 3 from deep so far.
Pregame
Arkansas' starting lineup: Jimmy Whitt, Isaiah Joe, Mason Jones, Adrio Bailey and Ethan Henderson.
Second consecutive and third career start for Henderson, who provided a big-time spark for Arkansas on Wednesday against Tennessee. He grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and blocked three shots. Eric Musselman likes his energy and quick second jump. We'll see if he can take that play on the road.
Isaiah Joe has scored 20-plus points in both games since returning from injury, and Mason Jones is coming off a 37-point game against the Vols. Can they get hot together? And can Desi Sills play well off the bench on the road? That's what Arkansas needs today.
Georgia's starters: Sahvir Wheeler (5-10), Anthony Edwards (6-5), Rayshaun Hammonds (6-9), Jordan Harris (6-5) and Toumani Camara (6-8).
Edwards, obviously, is the player the Razorbacks will be keying in on more than any other. He is expected to be one of the top picks in the upcoming NBA Draft, and we'll likely get a glimpse as to why today.
Edwards is No. 3 in the SEC in scoring at 19.5 points per game, and he scored 36 in a loss at South Carolina on Wednesday. He also dropped 37 on Michigan State earlier this season in the Maui Invitational. Edwards is as explosive as any player in the country. We'll see what the "Edwards Rules" are that Eric Musselman put in place this week in hopes of slowing him down.
Also, Wheeler ranks in the top 10 in the SEC in assist rate and is terrific in transition. Harris has the top steal rate as well during SEC play. The senior is also a threat to hit the offensive glass.
Running updates by Scottie Bordelon of WholeHogSports.com