National Basketball Association
Arkansas 60, Georgia 49
When: 3:30 PM ET, Saturday, March 14, 2015
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Officials:
# Lee Cassell, # Tony Greene, # Antinio Petty
Attendance:
19232
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 20 Arkansas 60, Georgia 49: Michael Qualls
had a game-high 15 points as the Razorbacks rolled to an SEC tournament
semifinal win in Nashville, Tenn.
Anthlon Bell added 10 points off the bench for second-seeded
Arkansas (26-7), which will get a second shot at top-ranked and undefeated
Kentucky in Sunday’s title game. The Razorbacks, who also received a game-high
12 rebounds but a season-low four points from SEC Player of the Year Bobby
Portis, shot 37.3 percent from the field, including 4-of-15 3-pointers, but connected on 12-of-15 at the free-throw line.
Marcus Thornton had 13 points and 12 rebounds to
pace Georgia (21-11), which had won five of its last six games but lost in the SEC
semifinals for the second straight season. Cameron Forte added 13 points off
the bench, and Taylor Echols had 10 for the Bulldogs, who scored a season-low
49 points after shooting 32.7 percent from the floor and making only 13-of-23
free throws while playing without second-leading scorer Kenny Gaines, who sat out
with a foot sprain aggravated in Friday’s quarterfinal win over South Carolina.
Arkansas led 31-23 with 16:30 remaining when it launched a 13-2
run – capped by a pair of Bell 3-pointers – over the ensuing 3 1/2 minutes to
assume a 44-25 advantage. Georgia clawed back within 56-47 on an Echols trey
with with 4:07 left, but that proved to be the Bulldogs’ final field goal as the Razorbacks slowed it down and ran out the clock.
The game got off to a sluggish start
as the teams were tied at 12 with 5:46 remaining in the first half. But
Arkansas caught some fire with an 11-2 run en route to a 25-17 lead at
intermission despite a scoreless opening 20 minutes from Portis.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Arkansas’ last SEC tourney
championship game appearance came in 2008 when it lost to Georgia 66-57 in
Atlanta. … With a three-point play in the second half, Portis joined Scotty
Thurman and Todd Day as the third Razorbacks’ player to reach 1,000 career
points as a sophomore. … With Gaines’ absence, Georgia players have missed
a combined 34 games this season due to injury or illness.
Top Game Performances
| Georgia |
|
Arkansas |
|
Cameron Forte 13 |
Scoring |
Michael Qualls 15 |
|
J.J. Frazier 4 |
Assists |
Nick Babb 3 |
|
Marcus Thornton 12 |
Rebounds |
Bobby Portis 12 |
|
Marcus Thornton 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Michael Qualls 4 |
|
J.J. Frazier 2 |
Steals |
Anthlon Bell 2 |
|
Cameron Forte 2 |
Blocks |
Moses Kingsley 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Georgia
|
49 |
32.7 |
4-10 |
13-23 |
11 |
36 |
3 |
6 |
12 |
| Arkansas
|
60 |
37.3 |
4-15 |
12-15 |
9 |
40 |
3 |
5 |
11 |
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