To win games on the road in the SEC, three things have to happen.

No. 1 - You need to hit timely shots.

No. 2 - Play defense.

. 3 - Hit your free throws.

On Saturday afternoon at Missouri, the Bulldogs did all three, resulting in a huge 75-68 victory to kick off SEC play.

“We’re going to enjoy this while we’re eating our pizza, but we’ve got 17 more of these, and they’re going to be wars. It’s a marathon,” head coach Mike White said. “Down the stretch defensively, I thought we were pretty sharp; our communication might have been at an all-time high in those 40 of course, and our bench scoring continues to help us.”

The victory was Georgia’s ninth straight, its longest such streak since winning nine in a row during the 2010-2011 campaign. The Dawgs are now 11-3 on the season, 1-0 in the SEC.

Down by two at 65-63 with 4:45 left, back-to-back threes by Justin Hill and Silas Demary Jr. put Georgia up four with just 2:41 left.

Missouri (8-6, 0-1) would get no closer, as the Bulldogs outscored the Tigers 12-4 to finish the victory.

During the stretch, the Bulldogs hit 6-of-8 free throw attempts, while the defense limited Mizzou to just a pair of meaningless field goals.

“That was big for them to show each other. We showed them our defensive deficiencies at halftime, which was primarily late first half. Some of that was poor offensive decisions at the rim on shots that we shouldn’t have taken that were blocked that led to transition defense,” White said. “But some of those possessions we weren’t quite as crisp as we were to start the game, again with our communication and rotation. So, for our guys to sit down in a stance and play connected defensive down the stretch ... will certainly serve us well moving forward if we continue to build on that.”

Give graduate center Russel Tchewa kudos for his performance.

The 7-foot, 280-pound center responded with his best game as a Bulldog, recording his first double-double.

A transfer from South Florida, Tchewa was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field, and only missed one free throw attempt, converting 8-of-9.

“We just translated what we did in practice the last two weeks,” said Tchewa, who scored a team-high 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. “We came here ready to play.”

Indeed.

Georgia shot 48 percent (24 of 50) and outrebounded Missouri 34 to 30. The Bulldogs also received 16 points from Hill, 15 points from Noah Thomasson, and 10 points from Demary Jr.

White’s bench outscored Missouri’s bench 23 to 3.

The first half was entertaining, if not a perplexing one for the Bulldogs.

Georgia started the game on fire, putting together a 17-1 run, capped by a three-pointer by Hill to place the Bulldogs in front 38-21 with 5:18 left in the first half.

But in a half that was eerily similar to the second half at Florida State, the Tigers came roaring back.

Hill’s bucket would be the last field goal the Bulldogs would see, while Missouri finished on a 17-2 run hitting 8 of 10 shots to draw within 40-38 at the half.

“If we don’t come out on top in Tallahassee, I’m not sure if you win that game,” White said. “It’s how you respond to runs. It’s about how connected you are after adversity hits, whether you gave up a big lead or you find yourself in a big hole. We gave up the big lead, but I loved the response that we showed in the last five minutes of the game.”

…Thomasson hit his first five shots, including eight straight points. He finished with a team-high 13 in the first half.

…Georgia’s bench outscored Missouri 13-0 in the first half.

…The Bulldogs converted 8 of their first 16 three-point attempts in the first half.

…Tchewa’s double-double was the 10th of his career, but first at Georgia after going 5 of 5 from the field. The only other Bulldogs with a double-double who went perfect from the field (5 or more attempts) in the 2000s, was Braelen Bridges last season against Missouri.

…Hill tied his career-high with four 3-pointers. He had four against Gardner-Webb in 2021 while playing for Longwood.

…In Thomasson’s last four games, he is 21 of 35 from the field (60 percent), including 7 of 14 on his 3-point attempts.

...Georgia’s 12 made 3-pointers against Missouri is the most in a single game this season and the third-most by the Bulldogs in the Mike White era.

...The Bulldogs have started 1-0 in conference play in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.

…Georgia returns to action Wednesday night when the Bulldogs host Arkansas. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m.