Georgia off to 3-0 start, hands upstart North Florida first loss

RJ Godfrey posted a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds and Georgia remained perfect with a 90-77 home win over North Florida on Tuesday night in Athens, Ga.

Godfrey, a junior transfer from Clemson, was 8 of 11 from the field for the Bulldogs, who shot 53.4 percent from the floor, including 61.5 percent in the second half. They dominated inside, outscoring North Florida 48-26 in the paint.

Silas Demary added 17 points, six rebounds and five assists and Tyrin Lawrence scored 15 for Georgia (3-0)

North Florida, which has road wins over South Carolina and Georgia Tech, wasn't able to find the same offensive stroke. The Ospreys (3-1) shot 42.9 percent from the floor and were 12-of-37 from 3-point range after coming in at 48.8 and 38.2 percent, respectively.

Liam Murphy led North Florida with 22 points off the bench, making 5-of-7 attempts from 3-point lead as the Ospreys got 40 points from their reserves. Nate Lliteras had 15 and Kamrin Oriol 14 but leading scorer Jasai Miles was limited to three points on 1-of-7 shooting from the floor.

Georgia, which led 43-31 at halftime, upped the edge to 18 with 13:40 left after starting 7-of-10 from the field. Five straight points by Murphy got North Florida within 61-49 with 11:15 remaining, and another triple from Murphy cut the deficit to 64-54.

The Ospreys got as close as nine with 9:46 left only to see Georgia score 12 of the next 14 to build a 78-59 lead 3 1/2 minutes later.

Georgia hit four of its first five 3-point attempts to jump out to a nine-point lead less than eight minutes in. A three-point play by Jaylen Smith got North Florida within 31-25 with 5:42 to go, but an 8-0 Bulldogs run extended the margin to 14 late in the first half.

Georgia will play its first road game on Friday, visiting Georgia Tech, while North Florida hosts UNC-Asheville on Monday.

--Field Level Media