Georgia drops home heartbreaker to Arkansas

Georgia couldn't stop the hot hand.

Arkansas guard Daryl Macon sank three 3-pointers in double overtime to help propel the Razorbacks to an 80-77 victory. Macon ended the game with 25 points on 7-of-14 shooting.

Georgia (12-7, 3-5 SEC) led by as many as 16 points in the first half but found itself trailing late in the game. The Bulldogs now have dropped four of its past five games.

Arkansas (14-6, 4-4) has won three of its past four games after opening conference play 0-3.

Four who mattered

Macon: Macon caught fire late in the second half and in the extra periods. He ended up sinking five 3-pointers en route to his 25 points.

Arkansas guard Jaylen Barford: Excluding Macon's late heroics, most of the other Razorbacks struggled a bit offensively. Barford, however, was a one-man wrecking crew for most of the game. He helped engineer the Arkansas rally and finished with 24 points.

Georgia forward Yante Maten: Maten didn't have his best night by converting six of his 16 shot attempts. But Maten, as usual, did a good job getting to the free-throw line, where he sank 13 of his 16 attempts. He finished the game with 16 points and 15 rebounds.

Georgia guard Juwan Parker: Over the past few games, Parker has emerged as Georgia's second-best offensive threat. Parker scored in double figures for the third time in the past four games with 12 points.

Turning point

The game ended up going to the wire, with Macon hitting two free throws to close it out.

Observations

Decisions, decisions: Maten came down with a rebound with 14 seconds left to play. Georgia head coach Mark Fox elected not to call timeout, which was something the Bulldogs discussed in a previous timeout. If Arkansas missed the Bulldogs were going to head up the court. That's what happened, with Barford missing and Maten grabbing the rebound. Georgia ran up the floor and things got a little sloppy initially before guard Jordan Harris got the ball. Harris drove the lane and threw a behind-the-head pass to Maten who had a good look at the basket. But Arkansas forward Trey Thompson made a better play by blocking the shot from behind. While one school of thought would be to use a timeout to set up a final play, Georgia got a quality shot but was unable to execute.

Second-half defense: At one point in the first half, Georgia was holding Arkansas to 18 percent from the field. Following the break, and much like it was against Auburn last Saturday, the Razorbacks saw the ball fall through the hoop a lot more often. Arkansas managed to shoot the ball at a 48.3 percent clip when the game was over. This is the second game in a row Georgia has kept a team cold early only to see it catch fire later.

Extended minutes for Claxton: Freshman forward Nicolas Claxton played 27 minutes after playing a smaller role the previous few games. Claxton scored nine points and was counted on down the stretch of the game. In the first overtime, Claxton hit a jumper with just over four minutes remaining in the period. He later had the key block that forced double overtime. With the way Claxton played against a physical Arkansas team, he stated a case for more playing time moving forward.

Worth mentioning

First-half lead vanquished: With a hot start, Georgia cruised out to a 27-11 lead in the first half. The Bulldogs, however, were unable to keep that lead as Arkansas eventually rallied and took a 38-37 lead early in the second half. It was the second consecutive game that Georgia blew a 16-point advantage in the first half.

Double-digit help: Georgia entered Tuesday as the only team in the SEC to have one player average double figures in scoring. The Bulldogs got some needed help on the offensive end against Arkansas, with Parker (12) and guard Turtle Jackson (15) joining Maten with a double-digit scoring effort.

First time: For the first time in series history, Georgia and Arkansas went to double overtime. But in recent history, this is a game that has gone to extra time multiple times. Tuesday's game marked the third time in the past four games in Athens that Georgia and Arkansas have gone to overtime. The Bulldogs won the other two games in 2014 and 2016.

They said it

Fox on not calling a timeout with seven seconds to go in double overtime: "On the last play we got exactly what we wanted. The timeout before, we discussed we're not going to call a timeout. Let's get the ball to Jordan or Turtle and create penetration. We did that. We got the ball to Yante on a pass. We didn't want anybody else to try and take that shot. That's what we wanted to do. When we got the rebound, I didn't want them to have a chance to reset their defense with seven seconds to go."

Maten on Georgia giving up a first-half lead and losing the game: "Yeah, we needed that one. I mean we’re going to have to regroup, come together, and try to win the next one."

Arkansas guard Jaylen Barford on the comeback: "My teammates stepped up, made plays and I made plays for them. We made a lot of big plays down the stretch."

What's next?

Georgia will travel to Kansas State for its Big 12/SEC Challenge game Saturday. Tip-off is at 2 p.m.

This story was originally published January 23, 2018 at 8:59 PM with the headline "Georgia drops home heartbreaker to Arkansas."