Mike White had several goals for his Georgia basketball team during Monday night’s debut at Stegeman Coliseum.

Winning the game was the first, although there was more he wanted to see. Take poise, for example.

After leading by as many as 18 in the first half, the Bulldogs saw the Catamounts rally to cut the lead to two before Georgia finished strong to post a 68-55 win.

“We found a way to grind one out,” White said. “I thought we took a step in the right direction by responding to adversity in a better fashion than we did against Georgia College.”

Down by 15 at the half, Western would pull within nine for the first time since early in the game on a 3-pointer by Tre Jackson followed by a Bulldog turnover that gave the Catamounts a chance to pull even closer.

Thanks to Jackson, they did.

Two more threes by Jackson and another by Bernard Pelote gave their team an 11-0 run and pulled WCU within two. But Georgia would respond.

Back-to-back three-point plays by Frank Anselem and Jabri Abdur-Rahim pushed the lead back to eight at 48-40 with 11:43 to play.

Western Carolina got no closer than six points the rest of the way as Georgia was able to rediscover the energy it showed in the first half to eventually finish with the double-digit win.

“I’m not sure I learned anything new that I didn’t know before. We’ve got some toughness,” White said. “We’ve got a little fight to us. We’ve got to have more fight to win in our league, of course, and we’ve got to execute higher offensively and defensively. We’ve got to value the ball better.”

Twenty-one turnovers were certainly a problem, as was the team’s perimeter defense in the second half.

After going just 1 of 7 from three-point range in the first half, Western Carolina went 5 of 11 in the second half and shot 46 percent.

“When we came out at halftime, I feel we took a step back in terms of they took the energy, they took the momentum,” said Kario Oquendo, who led the Bulldogs with 18 points. “Most of it was an effort. It was like, ‘Oh ______ , those guys are coming back. Fortunately, in the last seven minutes or so we started playing better and got control back of the game.”

Syracuse transfer Frank Anselem chipped in with 11 points, although six different players—Oquendo, Terry Roberts, KyeRon Lindsey, Braelen Bridges, Justin Hill, and Jabri Abdur-Rahim each played at least 20 minutes each.

Georgia led 37-22 at the half, with Oquendo tossing in 12 points to lead the Bulldogs who went 14 of 28 from the field.

Neither team shot well to start.

The Bulldogs and Catamounts went a combined 1-for-14 to start the game before Georgia settled down to take control.

Boxscore

Transfer Terry Roberts was back in the program and back in the starting lineup following a brief personal leave.

He played nearly 24 minutes, finishing with eight points and three steals.

“He’s a tough, competitive dude. He gets his hands on basketballs, he’s got a knack for getting loose balls and creating loose balls, tipping passes and he can really move laterally,” White said. “He’s a high-level defender. He’s going to score for us, too, and he’s our best passer. It means a lot to Terry’s teammates to have him back.”

… M.A. Moncrieffe suffered an ankle injury in the first half and did not return.

… Seven Bulldogs made their debut in the win over Western Carolina: Fifth-years Mardrez McBride, Roberts, Anselem, Hill and Moncrieffe, sophomore Jusaun Holt, and freshman Lindsay.

… Oquendo picked up right where he left off, logging 18 points, a career-high three blocks, and a pair of boards in the season opener. Monday marked Oquendo’s 24th double-digit performance as a Bulldog and his 14th consecutive double-digit outing, dating back to the 2021-22 season.

… Anselem went 5-of-7 from the field and 1-for-1 from the charity stripe to post a career-high 11 points in his Bulldog debut. He previously recorded nine points against Florida State on Feb. 9, 2022.

… In his collegiate debut, Lindsay racked up a team-high six boards against the Catamounts.

Georgia returns to action Friday night when the Bulldogs travel to Wake Forest. The Bulldogs return home for a pair of games next week, starting Monday against Miami-Ohio and then a Friday, Nov. 18 game against Bucknell, which will count as a first-round game in the Sunshine Slam Tournament.