ATHENS, Ga. -- Arkansas players felt they gift wrapped a victory for Georgia at Stegeman Coliseum last year.
The No. 23 Razorbacks took one away from Georgia on Tuesday night in their SEC opener before a national television audience and a crowd of 7,937 thanks to a late charge fueled by torrid shooting down the stretch in a 79-75 victory.
Game sketch
RECORDS Arkansas 12-2, 1-0 SEC; Georgia 9-4, 0-1
STARS Bobby Portis had 21 points, Michael Qualls added 17 and Alandise Harris made 7 of 8 shots and scored 15 for Arkansas. Georgia forward Nemanja Djurisic was 7 of 11 and scored 16 points.
TURNING POINT Alandise Harris scored seven consecutive points for Arkansas during a 1:37 stretch, then Michael Qualls hit an 18-footer as the Razorbacks turned a 61-61 tie into a 70-64 lead.
KEY STATS Arkansas shot 15 of 26 (57.7 percent) in the second half and held Georgia to 10-of-29 shooting (34.5 percent). The Bulldogs outrebounded Arkansas 40-25.
UP NEXT Arkansas hosts Vanderbilt in its SEC home opener at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Arkansas (12-2, 1-0 SEC) improved to 2-2 in road games by outscoring Georgia (9-4, 0-1) 16-11 down the stretch. The Razorbacks, who had been 5-21 in SEC road games under Mike Anderson, won its first SEC road opener since a 76-70 victory at Auburn in 2008.
"We started on the road and that's the ultimate challenge, and we came out looking good on that end of it," said Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson, who received congratulations from his nephew, Atlanta Hawks forward DeMarre Carroll, and many others after the game.
Bobby Portis scored 21 points to lead the Razorbacks, while Michael Qualls added 17 points and 7 rebounds. Alandise Harris came off the bench to hit 7 of 8 shots and scored 15 for the Razorbacks, whose bench outscored Georgia 34-19.
"That was like an NCAA Tournament game," Georgia Coach Mark Fox said. "That was a high-level game right there and both teams got after it. ... You have to give Arkansas a lot of credit. I thought they played very well and very determined."
Harris scored seven consecutive points for Arkansas, the last on a three-pointer from the top of the key with 4:56 remaining, to turn a 61-61 tie into a 68-64 Arkansas lead. Harris' fade-away shot from 18 feet gave the Razorbacks their first lead at 63-61.
"This was a great win for us, and you know people say we can't win on the road," Harris said. "That's been sticking with Arkansas forever so, shoot, that's the way to show them."
Qualls sank a 19-footer with 4:19 to play and added the final five points for Arkansas, including a breakaway dunk with 28.8 seconds left for a 76-70 lead.
The Razorbacks led 77-70 with 19 seconds remaining before things got a little dicey, bringing comparisons to Arkansas' late collapse in a 68-65 loss at Clemson. J.J. Frazier hit a three-pointer with 11.1 seconds left, and after a Portis turnover Georgia closed to within 77-75 on Marcus Thornton's tip-in with 4.5 seconds left.
Qualls sealed the victory with two free throws with 4.0 seconds left.
Nemanja Djurisic led Georgia with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Thornton and Juwan Parker scored 11 each.
Georgia, which outrebounded Arkansas by 22 in its 66-61 overtime victory here last year, dominated the boards again with a 40-25 edge, but Arkansas made up for it with 15-of-26 shooting (57.7 percent) in the second half. The Bulldogs made 10 of 29 shots (34.5 percent) in the second half.
"The second half, Coach just told us to press up more and start causing havoc on top, put pressure on the ball," Portis said.
"Our pressure defense really has a cumulative effect and we showed that, whether that be the turnovers or the shooting," Anderson said. "I think it was the shooting more than anything else, at the free-throw line and their jump shots."
Anderson, who paired big men Portis and Moses Kingsley in the starting lineup for the second consecutive game, left the quintet of Portis, Harris, Qualls, Manuale Watkins and Anton Beard in at crunch time and the unit delivered.
"You've got to have some guys that understand time and management and who's the hot hand," Anderson said. "They were playing well, and those guys play defense."
Georgia made seven of its first 11 shots and led by as many as 13 points in the first half, 38-25, while shooting 57.7 percent from the field and 6 of 9 from three-point range. Portis kept the Razorbacks afloat in the first half with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
Georgia led 57-49 on a Djurisic tip-in with 13:14 remaining before Arkansas began closing the gap on a Watkins' tip-in, a Harris pull-up jumper and back-to-back buckets by Anthlon Bell.
Sports on 01/07/2015