Freshmen carry Hogs to blowout win over Georgia

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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas not only snapped its two-game skid Saturday afternoon, but did so emphatically.

Freshmen Moses Moody and Davonte Davis combined for 45 points as the Razorbacks dominated the second half in a 99-69 win over Georgia inside Bud Walton Arena.

It was their largest margin of victory in an SEC game since beating Vanderbilt by 36 in 2019 and just the ninth time they’ve won a regular-season SEC game by at least 30, according to HogStats.com.

The victory improved Arkansas to 10-2 overall and 2-2 in conference play, while Georgia fell to 7-3 and is still winless in three SEC games.

“I thought we played great, I really did,” head coach Eric Musselman said. “I think the players are feeling good in the locker room. I think that was a great confidence boost for our guys after two tough games.”

What had the fanbase buzzing about Saturday’s win, though, was the play of the two freshmen. Moody scored a team-high 25 points, while Davis was second on the team inspiring with 20 points.

Those were career highs for both players and made them the first freshman duo at Arkansas to score 20-plus in the same game since Corliss Williamson (26 points) and Scotty Thurman (22) did it in a loss to Tennessee in 1993.

“That's amazing,” Davis said. “That's something to be proud of. That's history, basically. I don't think Moses knows that, but I'm going to let him know. I'm sure he's going to be happy, as well."

For Moody, it was a bounce-back performance after being held under 10 points for the first time in his career Wednesday at Tennessee.

Having scored just six points in that game, he was 9 of 15 from the floor, including 2 of 6 on three-pointers, and 5 of 5 from the free throw line. Moody had missed his previous 12 attempts inside the arc coming into Saturday, but his smooth jumper returned and he was 7 of 9 on two-pointers against the Bulldogs.

Musselman said he wasn’t too surprised because he noticed he was already “laser focused” well ahead of the team’s 10:15 a.m. shoot around.

“When I walked in, Moses had already done his full routine, his shooting routine, when I got in there and I got in there 20 minutes before practice today,” Musselman said. “So I think he was focused and ready to play.”

Back in the starting lineup for the second time in three games, Davis was tasked with defending Sahvir Wheeler, one of the fastest players in the SEC. Although he managed to score 14 points and dish out five assists, he also committed five turnovers.

The things Davis did that didn’t show up in the box score were as important to Musselman as his impressive stat line: 20 points on 9 of 14 shooting, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals.

“Devo did a great job following the game plan, not over-gambling, not being overanxious and just trying to keep Wheeler in front, which again, that was the reason he was in the lineup,” Musselman said. “And offensively, he was phenomenal for us.”

Led by leading scorer Toumani Camara, Georgia jumped out to an early lead Saturday afternoon. The 6-foot-8 big man knocked down a couple of quick three-pointers to give the Bulldogs a five-point lead and also made a layup to make it a four-point game.

However, he picked up his second foul just over five minutes in and had to go to the bench, giving way for Arkansas’ two-man show of Jalen Tate and Davis.

The home-grown freshman and fifth-year graduate transfer combined for the Razorbacks’ first 16 points, with Davis stealing the show by scoring 10 of those. He made his first four shots - including a corner 3 - and finished the half with 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal.

“Coming into the game, (I focused on) just taking what the defense gives me,” Davis said. “They gave me lanes and things like that, so I’m going to take the opportunity to do what I have to do - if it’s to attack the lane or to make open shots.”

It wasn’t until Moody - who also had 12 first-half points - made a free throw about eight minutes into the game that someone other than Davis or Tate scored.

Despite their efforts, Arkansas couldn’t pull away from the Bulldogs. In fact, for about a 10-minute stretch in the first half, neither team led by more than three points and the lead changed hands seven times.

Finally, the Razorbacks went on a 7-0 run highlighted by a JD Notae three-pointer. That created an eight-point lead and they had a chance to add to it after forcing a shot clock violation, but Davis was called for an offensive foul while driving to the basket.

That sparked a 6-0 spurt by Georgia, punctuated with an impressive fast-break alley-oop dunk by Camara. Musselman immediately called a rare timeout to refocus the team.

“It was an intense filled timeout, I guess, just because I was unhappy with our transition defense,” Musselman said. “The one thing we talked to our team about the last 48 hours was you cannot jog. If you jog, you come out against Georgia. You have to sprint on offense and you have to sprint on defense.”

It seemed like the message was well-received, as Arkansas extended its lead to 41-32, the largest of the afternoon. Andrew Garcia kept the Bulldogs in it with five straight points before Davis made a layup in the closing seconds to make it 43-37 at the half.

All Garcia’s effort did, though, was delay the inevitable. The Razorbacks owned the opening minutes of the second half, with Vance Jackson Jr. knocking down a three-pointer to push their lead to 12 at the 16:45 mark.

Even after Tom Crean called a timeout, Arkansas didn’t let up. Jackson and Moody each made a three in the next two minutes to make it a 12-0 run that effectively ended the game.

The Razorbacks ended up scoring 56 points in the second half. It was the most they’ve scored after halftime in an SEC game since 2002, when they had 60 second-half points against Alabama, according to HogStats.com.

“They punched us in the mouth early in the second half and we didn’t respond to it,” Crean said. “We had nobody respond to it. No one took the bull by the horns, so to speak, to rally the team.”

Georgia never got closer than 16 points the rest of the way and the Razorbacks led by as many as 35 with six minutes remaining.

Camara, who got off to a hot start, picked up another two quick fouls and was limited to only seven minutes in the second half. Before fouling out midway through the half, he had 15 points on 6 of 13 shooting - including 3 of 6 beyond the arc - in just 16 minutes.

“I wanted to try to go at Camara because he’s such a focal point for them offensively and defensively,” Musselman said. “Getting him in foul trouble was one of the things we talked about, trying to beat him off the dribble and so forth and try to attack his body because he's a good shot-blocker.”

Arkansas dominated Georgia at its own game. Known as one of the fastest teams in the country - ranked 13th nationally in adjusted tempo, per KenPom - and one that thrives in transition, the Bulldogs lost the turnover battle 21-14 and the Razorbacks out-scored them 29-18 in fast-break points.

The 29 fast-break points were Arkansas’ most since scoring 30 in last year’s opener against Rice.

“When you play an up-and-down team, you have a choice,” Musselman said. “The choice is do you slow the game down and make it more of a half-court game or do you open it up and make it a track meet?

“All over our locker room, we had big signs that said, ‘Win the race,’ so we were putting our track shoes on and we wanted this to be a high-scoring game.”

The Razorbacks also did a good job of sharing the ball, with 24 assists on their 36 field goals. Tate, who also scored 15 points, led the way with 10 assists. It was the Northern Kentucky graduate transfer’s second double-double of the year, as he also went for 17 and 11 against UCA.

Jackson started and had 15 points for Arkansas, as well, while Notae contributed 12 points off the bench.

Arkansas hits the road for both of its games next week, starting with a trip to Baton Rouge, La., to face LSU on Wednesday. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on ESPN2.