Fast start, furious finish power Georgia to SEC win over Arkansas

Anthony Edwards knew how to celebrate Leap Day — in no other fashion than a high-flying dunk.

Georgia’s wunderkind freshman soared over Arkansas defenders for a highlight-reel slam that brought Stegeman Coliseum to its feet and cemented another SEC win. The Bulldogs (15-14, 4-7 SEC) powered through a tightly-contested second half to beat Arkansas, 99-89.

“We were rolling, and then the air went out of us at the end of the first half,” said head coach Tom Crean after Georgia drew 10,000 fans for the 10th time this season. The Bulldogs won their first home “Leap Day” game in school history, too. “This was a game of adjustments. At the end of the day, when we had to get the stops, our crowd went to another level.”

Here are four observations from Georgia’s thrilling win.

FAST STARTS TOWARD VICTORY

At the opening tip, Georgia pieced together a dream-like run. Everything fell through the basket — from Edwards 3-pointers to Sahvir Wheeler’s nifty floaters. Arkansas couldn’t respond on the other end, either.

As three minutes, 56 seconds elapsed, the scoreline was unfathomable entering the first media timeout: Georgia 14, Arkansas 0.

Georgia couldn’t seem to miss if it wanted to in the early going Saturday. The Bulldogs soared to a 71% shooting (15 of 21). Hammonds compiled a quick 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting, and the Bulldogs didn’t look like the same team.

“We were up-tempo,” Hammonds said. “We wanted to keep doing what we were doing on that run. We found ways to keep scoring, and kept the main focus of defense. We had to stay level-headed.”

As things tightened throughout, the game-opening spurt proved crucial and sent Georgia to a victory for its final Saturday home bout in Athens.

COLD-SHOOTING HOGS HANG AROUND

A packed-out home crowd held its collective breath once Georgia built a big lead. Why? Those haven’t meant much (in losses to Florida, Missouri and Texas A&M) and the Bulldogs nearly let it slip again.

Arkansas couldn’t find the basket throughout most of the first half. Along with its scoreless drought to open play, the Razorbacks had a 1 of 9 shooting stretch and didn’t have a field goal for 7:26. Slowly, Arkansas churned its way back into the game and the Bulldogs’ big lead suddenly didn’t exist.

Georgia’s lead fell to eight at the half and only slimmed because the lack of defensive pressure re-appeared. If Arkansas wasn’t trading baskets, it was surging ahead by hot shooting in the second half. Mason Jones led the Razorbacks with 23 points, and 17 of those came after the halftime intermission.

Arkansas had plenty of chances with its deficit as narrow as a single point, but Georgia’s offense proved to be enough in front of its home crowd.

“Coach Crean always says momentum is up for grabs,” said guard Tyree Crump, who added 14 points on a flurry of second-half 3-pointers to give Georgia separation. “Basketball is all about runs. If you can stop their run, then you have the momentum. We stayed with that tonight.”

HAMMONDS A DIFFERENCE-MAKER

As the final seconds of the shot clock dwindled, Donnell Gresham Jr. found Hammonds in the corner. His shot fell as the buzzer sounded, and the on-fire forward ran down the court while holding three fingers. Georgia’s forward had everything working.

Hammonds scored in bunches for the Bulldogs, compiling 22 points on their way to a fourth SEC win inside Stegeman Coliseum. Hammonds did it at every level — including a putback dunk — and it began during Georgia’s game-opening spurt. He recorded 20 points for the sixth time this season and the third in conference play.

“At shootaround, I knew he was going to have a good game,” Crump said. “You could feel the spirit. He was doing stuff he doesn’t normally do. If he’s smiling, too, you know he’s going to have a great game.”

When Hammonds is clicking, his performances have elevated Georgia’s play to another level. But showings like Saturday’s haven’t been too common. Hammonds’ setback this season has been inconsistency with frequent low-scoring games, including a four-game stretch of single-digit totals.

This version of Hammonds, however, could be the spark Georgia needs for an end-of-season run.

EDWARDS CONTINUES PRO-LIKE SCORING SPURT

The projected No. 1 NBA draft pick’s shots appeared to be bad and impossible to make. Anthony Edwards’ shots nearly fell through every time.

And that’s why he’s one of the world’s top professional prospects.

Edwards, whether it be with acrobatic drives or deep 3-pointers, gave Georgia a spark with 26 points — the per-usual showing for the Bulldogs’ premier leading scorer. He didn’t quite follow the 36-point performance in the overtime loss to South Carolina, but Edwards’ consistency proved crucial for the Bulldogs.

He drove Georgia to the win with nine points over the last 1:07 of regulation.

“We ask a lot of him, and I hope nobody loses sight of how much progress he is making,” Crean said. “When you’re ranked like he is with those expectations, there’s nowhere to go but down. He’s going up and getting better all of the time. He persevered and bounced back a couple of times tonight.”

Edwards is piecing together a run that is a true rarity for Georgia basketball. He has posted double-digit scoring totals in all-but-one SEC contest and has scored 20-or-more points six times since Jan. 15 against Tennessee.

“He’s a great player. I don’t know what you want me to say,” Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman said. “His combination of strength and speed … he’s an incredible player. He’s got an NBA body right now.”

Box score

ARKANSAS (18-11): Bailey 2-5 2-4 6, Henderson 0-0 0-0 0, Joe 8-18 6-6 26, Jones 8-14 9-9 26, Whitt 2-6 1-2 5, Sills 8-13 2-5 21, Ja.Harris 1-5 2-2 5, Chaney 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-62 22-28 89.

GEORGIA (15-14): Camara 4-8 2-5 10, Hammonds 9-13 1-1 22, Edwards 8-14 7-8 26, Jo.Harris 5-8 1-2 11, Wheeler 5-9 1-3 11, Crump 5-7 0-0 14, Gresham 1-4 1-1 3, Brown 1-4 0-0 2, Fagan 0-0 0-0 0, Peake 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-67 13-20 99.

Halftime—Georgia 47-39. 3-Point Goals—Arkansas 9-24 (Joe 4-10, Sills 3-5, Ja.Harris 1-3, Jones 1-5, Bailey 0-1), Georgia 10-23 (Crump 4-6, Hammonds 3-4, Edwards 3-6, Camara 0-1, Wheeler 0-1, Gresham 0-2, Jo.Harris 0-3). Fouled Out—Bailey. Rebounds—Arkansas 24 (Sills 6), Georgia 38 (Hammonds, Jo.Harris 9). Assists—Arkansas 13 (Whitt 6), Georgia 12 (Hammonds, Gresham 3). Total Fouls—Arkansas 21, Georgia 23. A—10,017 (10,523).

This story was originally published February 29, 2020 at 8:03 PM.