Freshman Dylan James hasn’t been asked to speak with Georgia beat writers often.

In fact, Tuesday’s appearance after Georgia’s game with Ole Miss marked his first post-game interview this year.

But there was a reason, especially after James helped the Bulldogs accomplish a feat, they’ve rarely performed all year: control the paint. The result? A 69-66 win over the Rebels, snapping a skid of nine losses in the team’s previous 10 games.

“We were really just focused on all aspects of the game,” James said. “We were really focused on defense. They’re a really great offensive team, a great defensive team. We just wanted to go at them hard.”

That’s exactly what the Bulldogs (16-14, 6-11) were able to do for one of the few times this year.

Although it won’t qualify as perfect, Georgia put together two quality halves of basketball, outscoring Ole Miss (20-10, 7-10) in the paint 36-22, and outrebounding the Rebels, 39-30.

“I thought our guys went hard and competed. I would have been really surprised if we had not played very hard tonight,” head coach Mike White said. “I thought our defensive intensity never wavered. For this late in the year, for a team that’s not projected to be a 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament, I was really proud of our approach tonight.”

Back to James, who after making his first career start, finished one rebound shy of a double-double, settling for 10 points and nine boards.

He had plenty of help.

Center Russel Tchewa was a force inside, recording his fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. He also added five assists. RJ Melendez added 10 points and seven boards.

“Russ helped us control the game, 11 and 10, five assists and two turnovers. That’s big for us for him to be passing the way he’s been passing,” said Noah Thomasson, who led the Bulldogs with 15 points, including 12 in the first half. “I know he got me going early on a cut to the basket where he made a heck of pass for me to get the layup. If he keeps doing things like that and we can dominate the paint like that, we can pop some people in the SEC Tournament.”

A similar effort by James won’t hurt either.

With Jabri Abdur-Rahim out with an ankle injury, James was one of three true freshmen in the starting lineup for the Bulldogs, along with Silas Demary Jr. and Blue Cain.

It marked the first time Georgia started three freshmen since the 2020 SEC Tournament against Ole Miss when Anthony Edwards, Sahvir Wheeler, and Toumani Camara opened for the Bulldogs.

White liked what he saw.

In almost 26 minutes, James gave the Bulldogs a needed boost of energy with his play around the rim. He also turned over the ball just one time.

“He was awesome. Just to have a guy who was playing above the rim, blocking shots, altering shots, getting extra possessions, finishing with dunks--he looked like a potential, good SEC player, which is the guy that we recruited,” said White. “One of the most rewarding things in coaching is watching guys develop right before your eyes.”

Georgia closes out its regular season Saturday at Auburn before traveling to Nashville for next week’s SEC Tournament.

Boxscore

…Georgia played the game without Abdur-Rahim, and showed up for warmups with a boot on his left foot.

Abdur-Rahim is Georgia’s second-leading scorer, averaging 12.2 points per game.

White was unclear when the senior may return but believes he hopefully will be back soon from the injury, which he described as a lower leg/ankle ailment.

“I’m anticipating him coming back. I’m always careful about protecting (players’) confidentiality, but he was not cleared today,” White said. “He could be cleared on Thursday. Who knows?”

…White was called for his first technical in two years as Georgia’s coach early in the second half over a foul called on Demary Jr.

“I don’t know. Who knows, man? They’re all big for us. I’m not necessarily proud of that stuff,” White said. “I like our officials. They’re good people. I like to have regular conversations with them. My Irish turned a little red. I should be embarrassed by my behavior.”