Tuesday night’s game against No. 6 Kentucky was just the second of 18 conference games Georgia will play this year.

Nevertheless, Bulldogs guard Silas Demary Jr. said his team’s 82-69 win over the Wildcats before a sellout crowd of 10,523 might have been the biggest he’s experienced during his two years with the team.

“It's a big-time win in my opinion, because there were times last year where we'd get all the way to the end, and we would drop those big-time wins,” Demary Jr. said. “Being able to get over that hump against those ranked opponents and get those quad-one wins … it just shows the kind of growth we’ve seen in our program and the growth in the guys willing to put the work in every day.”

The win boosts the Bulldogs to 13-2, 1-1 in the SEC, while Kentucky falls to 12-3 and 1-1 in the league.

It was also a quick response by the Bulldogs to fans who were already projecting a season of doom and gloom after dropping their conference opener at Ole Miss on Saturday night in Oxford, 63-51.

“One thing about this team, we handle adversity extremely well, in practice, in games, and it just showed here tonight,” said freshman Asa Newell, who led the Bulldogs with 17 points. “We trusted each other. Coach came in with a great game plan, and we just played really hard.”

Newell wasn’t the only Bulldogs who enjoyed a stellar night.

Blue Cain chipped in with 15 points, followed by Demary Jr. with 14 and Dakota Leffew with 11.

Somto Cyril – a former Kentucky signee – also enjoyed what head coach Mike White called his “best game." Although he scored just six points, Cyril was a terror around the rim for the Bulldogs, helping Georgia win the rebounding battle 41-34, with a team-high eight on the night.

“Somto is the grit of our team. You know, he came in and made plays, dunking on people, and we needed that energy from him,” Newell said. “It’s just him putting in all the work. He does that all the time at practice, and it showed tonight.”

Demary Jr. agreed.

“For me, just to see him shake the rim. I haven't seen that before. A guy his size just to be able to be that quick off his feet is just a testament to his hard work and him believing in himself,” Demary Jr. said. “I think this is probably like his fifth year being in America. So, you know, just him going through adversity. But I'm grateful just to see that because he's my teammate and I don't have to go against that. I'll go against it in practice, but when it's time to count, I know he has my back. I’m glad he’s on my team.”

White was impressed with what he saw.

Despite shooting just 41 percent from the field (23 of 55), White credited his team’s energy and defense, which held Kentucky to a mere 37 percent shooting (24 of 64).

“I thought we played with a ton of energy, stayed connected throughout, and separated the score a little bit in the late half. We did a lot of good things, did a lot of good things,” White said. “We've got to continue to get better and a lot of things we've got to continue to work on. It's a really good win for us, obviously, but it's a different SEC these days, and all of these are going to be extremely difficult, so we've got to move on to the next one pretty quick.”

The Bulldogs led the entire second half, enjoying a 14-point advantage at one point, although Kentucky would cut the lead to five at 55-50 with 12:07 to play.

A pair of free throws pushed the lead back to seven for the Bulldogs. Kentucky would get no closer the rest of the night, ultimately dropping their third straight game at Stegeman Coliseum.

Kentucky was coming off a 106-100 win over Florida on Saturday but it found Georgia's defense much more difficult.

“It’s like the second 10-minute stretch has been really problematic. The first 10 minutes were okay in there, we got it started out well, and then it’s that second 10 minutes. Maybe it’s a little rotational stuff, maybe we’re being a little oversensitive to foul stuff, or maybe it’s when the issues in the game are really starting to seep in," Kentucky coach Mark Pope said. "But it’s something we’re super conscious of. We had some much better success in that segment last game, but we just couldn’t produce it tonight.”

After five lead changes to start the game, Georgia dominated the final 10 minutes of the half to go into the locker room with a 47-34 lead.

Keying the spurt was a 14-4 run by the Bulldogs, one which Cyril stamped with a tremendous effort play, grabbing a pair of offensive boards before slamming it in for two, bringing the sellout crowd to its feet.

The Bulldogs weren’t done.

After a three-pointer by Leffew gave Georgia its first double-digit lead, Newell later hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs their 47-34 halftime edge.

Georgia returns to action when the Bulldogs host Oklahoma. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

Boxscore

• With tonight’s result, the Bulldogs have now won their last two contests at home against the Wildcats (75-68 win on Feb. 11, 2023).

• Starting Streak - Georgia rolled out the same starting lineup for the 15th consecutive game with Cain, Demary Jr., Lawrence, Godfrey, and Newell.

• Leading from the Line - Sophomore guards Blue Cain and Silas Demary Jr. were a perfect combined 13-13 from the free throw line in the win. The Bulldogs' 29 total made free throws is good for second-most of the year (30 - Texas Southern on Nov. 10).

• Nonstop Newell - Freshman forward Asa Newell led the Bulldogs in scoring for the eighth game this season with a 17-point outing tonight

.• Second Half Steady - Georgia took a 13-point lead into the halftime break after Newell knocked down a long three-point attempt to beat the buzzer. The Bulldogs then went on into the second half, and despite late pushes from the Wildcats, finished the game up by a 13-point margin.

• Big Time Beat - The result marks the first win over an AP Top 10 program in four years (65-62 win over No. 9 Memphis on Jan. 4, 2020).