Anthlon Bell added 10 points off the bench for second-seeded Arkansas (26-7), which will get a second shot at top-ranked and undefeated Kentucky in Sunday’s title game. The Razorbacks, who also received a game-high 12 rebounds but a season-low four points from SEC Player of the Year Bobby Portis, shot 37.3 percent from the field, including 4-of-15 3-pointers, but connected on 12-of-15 at the free-throw line.

Marcus Thornton had 13 points and 12 rebounds to pace Georgia (21-11), which had won five of its last six games but lost in the SEC semifinals for the second straight season. Cameron Forte added 13 points off the bench, and Taylor Echols had 10 for the Bulldogs, who scored a season-low 49 points after shooting 32.7 percent from the floor and making only 13-of-23 free throws while playing without second-leading scorer Kenny Gaines, who sat out with a foot sprain aggravated in Friday’s quarterfinal win over South Carolina.

Arkansas led 31-23 with 16:30 remaining when it launched a 13-2 run – capped by a pair of Bell 3-pointers – over the ensuing 3 1/2 minutes to assume a 44-25 advantage. Georgia clawed back within 56-47 on an Echols trey with with 4:07 left, but that proved to be the Bulldogs’ final field goal as the Razorbacks slowed it down and ran out the clock.

The game got off to a sluggish start as the teams were tied at 12 with 5:46 remaining in the first half. But Arkansas caught some fire with an 11-2 run en route to a 25-17 lead at intermission despite a scoreless opening 20 minutes from Portis.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Arkansas’ last SEC tourney championship game appearance came in 2008 when it lost to Georgia 66-57 in Atlanta. … With a three-point play in the second half, Portis joined Scotty Thurman and Todd Day as the third Razorbacks’ player to reach 1,000 career points as a sophomore. … With Gaines’ absence, Georgia players have missed a combined 34 games this season due to injury or illness.