Georgia can’t get past Razorbacks

By Keith Holt | Mar 14, 2015

The SEC tournament trains stops at the semifinal round this year for the Georgia Bulldogs. With Saturday’s 60-49 loss to Arkansas, the Dawgs will now have to await the fate of the NCAA selection committee to see where their season goes from here. Mark Fox’s team finishes the season with a 21-11 overall record.

Georgia walked into Saturday’s contest shorthanded as guard Kenny Gaines was out with an injured ankle that he suffered during the quarterfinal game against Auburn.

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The first half was one to forget for Georgia. Neither team shot the ball very well during the opening session but Georgia had a little more trouble than the Razorbacks. The Dawgs only had seven made field goals, of which five came from reserve forward Cameron Forte. The rest of the team was 2-of-19 from the floor.

Only four Georgia players even got on the board before intermission. The usually potent senior duo of forwards Marcus Thornton and Nemanja Djurisic only combined for two points in the first half.

Despite their struggles the Dawgs only entered halftime down 25-17 as Arkansas only was able to muster a 33 percent shooting effort itself. The Hogs effort was more balanced with eight players contributing to the scoring effort. The Bulldogs were able to effectively shutdown SEC Player of the Year Bobby Portis, who was scoreless in the first half.

The Georgia offense gained a little life in the second half but unfortunately so did Arkansas’s. The Razorback’s opened up half outscoring the Dawgs 19-8 in the first seven minutes of the session to lead by 19 points.

UGA battled back as Thornton’s scoring came to life and the Bulldogs got an unexpected shot in the arm from reserve guard Taylor Echols, who has some timely 3-pointers to keep the Bulldogs alive.

Mar 14, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Anton Beard (31) drives the ball against Georgia Bulldogs guard Taylor Echols (10) during the second half of the semifinals of the SEC Conference Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports

Despite Portis only being able to get four points for the game, Arkansas still was able to hold on. The Bulldogs did not get major beat in any major statistical category in a huge way, but one thing that stands out is the 10 missed free throws that could have made the game a lot closer.

The Razorbacks did the most fundamental thing they put more balls in the basket as they shot 10 more shots than Georgia and made six more.

Georgia had only three players to score in double figures, as Thornton and Cameron Forte each had 13 points in the losing effort. Echols contributed 10 points as he made three of the team’s four 3-pointers.

The Razorbacks were led by guard Michael Qualls‘ 15 points, as reserve guard Anthlon Bell chipped in 10 points.

Next up for Georgia will be presumably their placement in the NCAA tournament. Stay tuned …

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