Tom Crean called Saturday night’s 79-75 win over Samford a character builder.

Considering the stress Georgia found itself under before pulling out the victory, he probably has a point.

The Bulldogs trailed by as many as 13 points and did not grab the lead until a basket by Jaxon Etter put Georgia in front for the first time with 1:17 remaining, before the team scored six of the final eight points to stay undefeated at 5-0.

To find the last time that happened for the Bulldogs, you have to go back 19 years to the 2001-2002 campaign.

“Any season, especially a season like this—to find a way to win a game, when you don’t give in, you don’t give up, you don’t panic—you just keep coming,” Crean said. “I was kind of concerned how we were going to play, because I felt they could come out and stun us.”

The visiting Bulldogs (2-2) from Birmingham almost did exactly that, although the shootout that many predicted between the two high-scoring squads never quite materialized.

Samford, which scored 174 points in an exhibition game over Greenville, came in averaging right at 90 through its first three games of the regular season, with Georgia not far behind at 82.5.

However, neither team shot the ball well (Samford 42 percent, Georgia 42.9), despite the fact the Bulldogs put five players in double-figures. Justin Kier led the way with 18 points, followed by Sahvir Wheeler and Tye Fagan with 15 each, Andrew Garcia chipping in with 11, and P.J. Horne with 10.

“We’re just not shooting the ball yet; it’s just not there yet. It’s going to come. We spend a lot of time on it,” said Crean. “There’s a saying, I didn’t come up with it, but the ball finds energy, and at times that happened. At times it didn’t, but we found a way.”

Wheeler’s night encapsulated what kind of night it was for the Bulldogs.

The first half was arguably the sophomore’s worst of the young season. He scored just three points, with four turnovers in the first half. In the second, Wheeler rebounded with 12 points and just one turnover.

“My teammates empowered me, kept telling me that it’s 0-0, it’s a new half,” Wheeler said. “So, I just stayed confident, tried to get other guys going like (Kier), P.J.—Tye Fagan even got it going a little bit. We’re a balanced team. Even when one person isn't doing as well as they usually do, there's another person who can step in right away. That’s how we are.”

It was a tough first half for the Bulldogs, who were probably fortunate to be down by only four, 35-31 at the half.

The Bulldogs only shot 34.5 percent (10 of 29) the first 20 minutes, including just 3 of 12 from three-point range. Samford led by as many as 13 points with 8:45 left in the first half, before Georgia, which was out-rebounded 25-20, climbed back into the game.

Although the Bulldogs managed just a trio of early threes, two came on back-to-back shots by Wheeler and Kier to make the score 32-27, with 2:21 on the clock, before Georgia pulled within 35-31 at the half.

“That’s a tough team—a great team. They’re really well-coached, so it just shows we have maturity on this team,” Kier said. “When you're down that entire game, you really have to dig a little deeper on the defensive end to try and get stops when shots aren’t falling. I think our guys responded really well down the stretch and didn’t let up.”

Boxscore

Sophomore Toumani Camara missed Saturday’s game due to a lower-body injury.

Crean didn't offer specifics.

"It's not Covid, and it’s a lower body injury. Hopefully, he's going to be back here real quick," said Crean.

"We didn't play great basketball by any stretch. But we found a way to do that. Toumani’s out, but he was not the only one who was banged up this week," he said. "We had some guys that gutted it out—didn't play great, but gutted it out and did a good job in there. Now, we go to our exams, and we get ourselves ready for a really, really good Cincinnati team that had a great battle today at Tennessee.”

The injury isn't expected to be serious, and Toumani and hopes to return for next Saturday’s game against Cincinnati (8 p.m.).

• Kier scored his most points as a Bulldogs: 18. This was also Kier’s third double-digit game of the season and 54th of his career.

• Fagan notched his third double-digit game of the season and sixth of his career. Fagan also posted his season high in assists with three.

• Horne scored his fourth double-figure game of the season and 18th of his career. Horne also picked up his most blocks as a Bulldog with 2.

• Wheeler had his fourth double-digit game of the season and 15th of his career.

• Garcia scored his third double-digit game of the season and 43rd of his career. Garcia had three steals, which is his most as a Bulldog this season

• Sophomore Jaxon Etter played for a career high four minutes, where he was able to notch his first career assist.

• Georgia won the rebound game in all three facets. Total rebounds S: 38/ UGA: 46, defensive rebounds S: 27/ UGA: 31, and offensive rebounds S: 11/ UGA: 15.

The Bulldogs are off until hosting Cincinnati next Saturday night at Stegeman Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.