Silas Demary Jr. said the goal entering Tuesday night’s game against North Florida was simple – match the energy of the upstart Ospreys.

That’s just what Georgia was able to do.

In a game that saw six Bulldogs finish in double-figures, Mike White’s team out-hustled, out-shot, and ultimately outscored North Florida, rolling to a 90-77 win before a Stegeman Coliseum crowd of 5,757.

The loss was the first of the year for North Florida (3-1), which was coming off road wins at both South Carolina and Georgia Tech.

“The past two games we kind of had slow starts at first. So, we were kind of just thinking, like, how can we start fast and keep the momentum?” Demary Jr. said. “We just want to play as hard as we can for as long as we can. And when the next guys come in, we want him to do the same thing.”

RJ Godfrey was a menace the Ospreys could not contain.

The Clemson transfer poured in 21 points and dominated the boards with 12 rebounds for his second-career double-double as a Bulldog. The 21 points and 12 boards also represented career highs dating back to his days at Clemson.

“Just playing hard and playing with energy. I think it rubbed off on my teammates, especially this guy right here. He had an amazing night,” Godfrey said of Demary Jr., who scored 17 points, with seven rebounds and five assists. “I’ve only got two years left, so I'm not taking any game for granted. I'm just going to come out here and have fun.”

White said Godfrey’s energy doesn’t go unnoticed. It’s something he sees every day.

“Yeah, and it's every second of every practice. Heck, we've got to have him slow down and shoot around. He's just an intense, high-energy guy. He doesn't take plays off,” White said. “And it does spread. Ace (Asa Newell) is the same way. That starting frontcourt for us … they've got motors. They just play hard. They change ends. They can move laterally. They're very active frontcourt guys, very versatile. And our other frontcourt guys complement them. But RGA was fantastic tonight. I'm happy for him.”

Godfrey and Demary Jr. weren’t the only Bulldogs to enjoy a big night.

After scoring just two points in the first half, Newell just missed out on a double-double of his own, scoring 13 points with eight rebounds. Tyrin Lawrence chipped in with 17, with Blue Cain and Dakota Leffew adding 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Bulldogs (3-0) won the rebounding battle 39-30 and blocked eight shots.

Overall, Georgia shot 53.4 percent (31 of 58 from the field). The Bulldogs led by as many as 20 points.

“They're hard to guard, but overall, it was a very good performance for us,” White said. “We had some empty possessions with some missed chippies in the paint. Again, those turnovers (10), we've got to continue to improve with our decision-making, but overall played well.

In the second half, the Bulldogs pushed the lead to 18 points before a couple of three-pointers helped the Ospreys back within 12 at 61-49 with 11:13 left forcing a Georgia timeout.

The Bulldogs would trade buckets from there, with Georgia leading 71-57 with 7:54 remaining, but North Florida would get no closer.

Georgia would extend its lead to 81-61 with 4:07 to play and cruised to its third win.

“I would just say we kind of got lax. I feel like we weren't responding as well to giving up some buckets. You know, we were dwelling on some turnovers we had,” Demary Jr. said. “But I feel like as we went into that media and talked about being lax instead of just really locking in and playing throughout the whole game, I feel like it changed a lot. That’s why we went on the run again and opened up the league back up.

Georgia led the entire first half.

Godfrey was a one-man wrecking crew, leading the way with 13 points and eight rebounds, as the Bulldogs were able to keep pounding the ball inside against the smaller Ospreys.

Lawrence wasn’t to be outdone.

The Vanderbilt transfer pumped in 11 first-half points, including a pair of three-pointers for the Bulldogs, who converted 5 of 9 en route to a 43-31 halftime lead.

Boxscore

... Georgia’s starters scored 77 points – North Florida had 77 points in all.

...Georgia had 24 field goals made from the paint, North Florida had 30 field goals made in all.

...Georgia did not commit its first turnover until the 8:20 mark in the first half (11:40 of action).

...Georgia is shooting 49.2 from the field through 3 games this season (through 3 games last season – Georgia was shooting 39.1 percent)

...Georgia has 24 blocked shots in its first 3 games (the Bulldogs reached 24 blocks in its 9th game last season).

...Georgia has had back-to-back games with 20+ FT made (the Bulldogs have had only 1 three-game streak of 20+ under Mike White once and that was his 3rd, 4th, 5th games as Georgia’s head coach).

...RJ Godfrey: Double-doubles in 2 of his first 3 games this season (had 0 in 69 games with Clemson) ... Is the 3rd different Georgia player under Mike White with a 20+ pt, 10+ rebounds per game

…Asa Newell: Has shot 50 percent or higher in all 3 games ... 3+ blocked shots in each game (The last UGA player with three games or more with 3+ blocks was Nic Claxton in 2018-19 season)

…Silas Demary Jr: The 2nd Georgia player under Mike White to have multiple 15+ pt and 5+ last games in a season. (Terry Roberts had 4 in 2022-23)