Devo Davis found Makhi Mitchell for a go-ahead lay-up with less than a minute left to break a tie game and then made a free throw seconds later to seal Arkansas’ 78-75 win over Georgia on Saturday.
Davis played in his first game in two weeks after taking a leave of absence from the team before Arkansas (12-11, 3-7) played Kentucky on January 27. No reason was given for his leave, nor for his return. Fans were left bewildered, some even angered, wrongly.
They shouldn’t be now.
Arkansas’ win kept the Razorbacks above .500, a mark the team has never fallen below in coach Eric Musselman’s four-plus seasons.
Davis played 35 minutes in his return, scoring four points, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists. Five of his teammates scored in double figures, led by Keyon Menifield and El Ellis, who each scored 15 points.
The Razorbacks led most of the game, but a stretch of nearly four minutes without a field goal in the middle part of the second half allowed Georgia to pull close. But when Ellis buried a 3 with 1:41 left, he provided Arkansas with the first lead of more than a single point either team had had since before the final media timeout.
Silas Demary led Georgia with 19 points while Jordan Hill added another 18.
Arkansas shot 58% from the field and scored 21 points off Georgia’s 14 turnovers as the key. The Hogs are back at home Wednesday against Tennessee in a game the Volunteers will want as they seek to secure a No. 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament.