Arkansas takes care of business at home vs. Georgia

Sophomore guard Mason Jones scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half to lead Arkansas to a 70-60 win over Georgia on Tuesday night in Fayetteville, Ark.

Arkansas (12-8, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) set a school record for an SEC game with 14 blocked shots, including five by Reggie Chaney.

Georgia (10-10, 1-6) lost for the fifth time in its past six games.

The headliners in the game were a pair of 6-foot-11 sophomores: Georgia’s Nicolas Claxton, who entered the day leading the SEC in rebounds and blocks, and Arkansas’ Daniel Gafford, who ranked first in field-goal percentage, second in rebounds, sixth in scoring and ninth in blocks.

On Tuesday, Claxton had 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, making 3 of 7 shots from the floor. Gafford had 11 points, five rebounds and four blocks, making 3 of 4 shots from the floor.

Jalen Harris added 13 points for Arkansas.

Georgia, which was a bit short-handed with guard Jordan Harris out due to a concussion, also got 14 points from Derek Ogbeide and 11 points from William Jackson II.

Arkansas led 31-29 at halftime, which was amazing considering the Razorbacks shot just 34.4 percent from the floor, 18.2 percent on 3-point attempts (2 of 11) and were outrebounded 27-14.

Georgia couldn’t take advantage because the Bulldogs were minus-7 on turnovers and shot just 30.8 percent overall and 25 percent on 3-point tries (2 of 8).

The Bulldogs were up by as many as nine points in the first half, and the Razorbacks didn’t take their first lead until Jones made a layup with 5:27 left before intermission. Arkansas then closed out the half on a 5-0 run with a Jones 3-pointer and then a Harris layup just before the buzzer.

The second half was also a back-and-forth affair as Arkansas surged ahead 52-45 only to watch Georgia post a 7-0 run to tie the score. Arkansas, though, went on one more run to earn the victory.

For the game, Georgia won the rebound battle 54-30 but shot just 31.1 percent from the floor and 31.8 percent on from 3-point range (7 of 22).

Arkansas shot 41 percent from the floor and 23.8 percent on 3-point attempts (5 of 21).