ATHENS, Ga. — The Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, 83-78, in their home regular season opener Monday night at Stegeman Coliseum. Three scorers saw double figures as freshman forward Asa Newell led the charge with 26 points, matching Dominique Wilkins for the all-time program record for points scored in a freshman debut.
Fast Facts
• In addition to Newell’s team-leading 26-point debut, the freshman grabbed 11 boards off the glass and three blocks to record his first career double-double. Graduate guard Dakota Leffew and junior forward RJ Godfrey also found double figures scoring 18 and 10, respectively.
• RJ Godfrey joined Asa Newell in recording his first career double-double, scoring 10 points paired with 10 rebounds on the night.
• Dakota Leffew’s 18 points were powered by four three-pointers on the night, marking his 16th career game with four or more makes from behind the arc.
• Asa Newell’s debut performance marked the fourth time in the 2000s with a Bulldog recording 25+ points, 10+ rebounds and 3+ blocks in a game (Trey Thompkins vs New Orleans – 2009, Trey Thompkins at Tennessee – 2010, and Yante Maten vs LSU – 2018).
• The Bulldogs outrebounded the Golden Eagles 44-25 on the night.
“This team also has got a ways to go,” head coach Mike White said. “It’s easy when you’re at Charlotte and you’re up big late and there’s no game pressure on you and the things fall in and we’re getting tip dunks and what have you. Then you play Central Florida, who we all knew was a lot better than that. We probably weren’t that good. I hope to be that good in a couple months. Now it’s equal opportunity, a lot of stuff we were doing today, but that’s another area where we’ve got to grow and learn who we are. Who’s getting the ball and what spots at what time of the game and how we’re going to execute, what we can really hang our hat on. So, we’ll be able to learn a lot from this game.”
Up Next:
The Bulldogs will remain at home when they host Texas Southern in the first game of the Peach State Classic on Sunday, Nov. 10 with tipoff set at 3:30 p.m. ET at the Stegeman Coliseum.
