Macon’s late 3s power Arkansas past Georgia

Arkansas 80, Georgia 77, 2 OT

ATHENS — Daryl Macon sank three 3-pointers in the second overtime and scored 25 points, lifting Arkansas to an 80-77 win over Georgia on Tuesday night.

Jaylen Barford added 24 points for Arkansas (14-6, 4-4 Southeastern Conference), which rallied after trailing by 16 points in the first half. Macon padded the lead with two free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining.

Yante Maten, who led Georgia (12-7, 3-5) with 26 points, had a shot blocked under the basket by Trey Thompson with 2 seconds remaining in the second overtime.

Macon’s second 3-pointer of the second overtime gave the Razorbacks a 75-73 lead. William “Turtle” Jackson answered with a go-ahead 3 for Georgia before Macon sank yet another 3, giving Arkansas a 78-76 lead.

Maten made one of two free throws to cut the Arkansas lead to one point with 41 seconds to go.

Anton Beard’s jumper with 28 seconds remaining in regulation gave the Razorbacks a 63-61 lead before two free throws by Jordan Harris forced the first overtime.

Georgia’s Nicolas Claxton blocked a shot by Barford to leave the first overtime tied at 69.

Maten, the SEC scoring leader, won the scoring showdown with Barford, who is third overall and the SEC’s top scorer in league games.

Barford, who recorded his third straight game with at least 23 points, opened the second half with a buzzerbeating 3-pointer.

Arkansas shooters struggled early, making only three of their first 17 shots as Georgia used a 9-0 run to lead 24-9. Georgia led 29-13 before being outscored 15-4 and making only one shot from the field in the final six minutes of the half.

Led by Barford, the Razorbacks finally found their shot, making eight of nine shots from the field the remainder of the half, cutting the Bulldogs’ lead to 33-28 at the break.