While the play on the court wasn’t quite what Tom Crean was hoping for, Georgia’s energy was enough to carry the Bulldogs to a 58-51 win in Tuesday night’s season-opener over visiting Florida International.

“I thought that really, really went well, because I’m always worried about legs,” Crean said. “Our guys are learning. It’s going to take a while with the chemistry and rotations. We still do not understand all the game plan aspects that you’ve got to have night in and night out, but to play that hard and that intense … our crowd really helped us. We’ll get better from that.”

The numbers bore Crean out.

Georgia only shot 35.9 percent (20 of 57) for the game after converting just 28.6 percent (8 of 28) in the first half. Fifteen turnovers did not do any favors for the Bulldogs, who outrebounded the Panthers 46-36.

But in the energy department, Georgia had plenty to spare, and used a late spurt to outscore FIU 8-3 over the final 3:13 to finish off the seven-point win.

“I just think our team did a really good job of coming together defensively,” Gonzaga transfer Aaron Cook said. “That’s really what got our energy going and ultimately got us going on offense.”

Cook's performance on the court that helped carry the Bulldogs to Tuesday’s win.

Cook led the Bulldogs with a team-high 10 points and eight assists, with Kario Oquendo, Braelen Bridges and Jaxon Etter chipping in with nine.

“They’re going to get better at that (shooting). Every team I ever had has. This team is going to be able to shoot the ball,” Crean said. “It’s just a matter of having a couple of good nights. It will come, but they are making improvements in every area.”

After trailing at the half, Georgia stormed back to start the second, scoring the first seven points to reclaim a two-point lead.

FIU would go back in front by four with 13:01 and maintained the advantage with 10:26 left on the clock before the Bulldogs rallied back.

A 12-0 run over the next five minutes-sparked by four points from Oquendo-pushed Georgia ahead by eight with 5:20 left in the game.

The Panthers would close within three, 51-48, on a basket by Tevin Brewer before the Bulldogs answered with eight straight points to build a 10-point lead.

“It’s going to be a process but every day in practice we’re preaching ball movement,” freshman Christian Wright said. “It’s about moving the ball and sharing the ball, so everyone gets their best shots. We all have the same goal – we want to win. We’ve just got to put our time in and try to gel as much as we can.”

The first half was not the team’s best showing.

The Dawgs bounced back from an 11-2 deficit to take an 18-14 lead.

However, Georgia’s advantage did not last long as the Bulldogs only managed four free throws over the final 5:49 of the first half.

Meanwhile, FIU closed out the first half on a 13-4 run, which Denver Jones capped with a three-pointer from the key as the buzzer sounded to send the team into their respective locker rooms.

Georgia returns to action Saturday when the Bulldogs, including their 10 newcomers, travel to Cincinnati.

“It’s a lot of new guys, some young, some new,” Crean said. “We work at it every day. If you improve a little every day, and I know it sounds corny, over a period of time, you’ve got something. The trick is you can’t take a couple of steps forward and then a couple of steps back."

Boxscore

• Tonight’s game was the first ever meeting between the Bulldogs and the Panthers. Georgia is now 19-9 against current Conference USA opponents.

• The Bulldogs improve to 84-33 all-time in season openers.

• Tom Crean improved to 22-1 in openers as a head coach, including 4-0 with the Bulldogs.

• Tuesday’s win highlighted Tom Crean’s first time coaching against the Panthers in his head coaching career.

• In his first regular season collegiate game, freshman Christian Wright added seven points off of the bench for the Bulldogs

• Senior Aaron Cook tallied double-digit points for the 47th time in his career.

• Sophomore Jabri Abdur-Rahim totalled a career high in minutes with 16, beating his previous best of 11 against Saint Francis last season.

• Junior Jaxon Etter totalled a career-high in minutes with 28, beating his previous best of 20 against Alabama last season. Etter also matched his career-high in points with nine.

• Freshman Kario Oquendo scored nine points in his first regular season collegiate game.

• The Bulldogs held the Panthers to only four free throw attempts in the game, equalling a season-low from last year’s game against Northeastern.