In its biggest game of the year to date, Georgia answered the bell.
The Bulldogs traveled to Texas on Saturday night for a matchup critical to their NCAA Tournament chances. Georgia (18-11, 6-10 SEC) responded by leading the game the entire way, winning 83-67 over Texas (16-13, 5-11).
The win is Georgia's first road victory in SEC play. It's also the first time the Bulldogs have won consecutive games since beating Kentucky and Oklahoma on January 7 and January 11.
The win in Austin capped a week that began on Tuesday with a massive upset win over No. 3 Florida in Athens.
"We were locked in, and after a big win like (Florida), for a team that's searching, especially for a road win in the SEC, there was no difference in our approach leading into this one with shoot-around, with the practices," Georgia head coach Mike White said after the game. "We were good. I mean, that's about as well as we've played."
Silas Demary Jr. led the Bulldogs with another fantastic performance.
The sophomore guard led all scorers in the game with 26 points. That continued a strong run of play for Demary, who entered the Texas matchup averaging 19.4 points per game over his previous five contests.
The scoring output sets a new career high.
"I think a lot of it is just the organic maturation of a true sophomore, midway through that sophomore year, where his team's asking him to be a little bit more aggressive, especially with our turnover problems, him gaining confidence, having a little bit more success over time, and just building off of it," White said. "He's just taking a few more shots a game, and he's shooting it at high clip right now. We hope that continues, but he's going to continue to see high-level defenses."
Georgia took control from the opening tip, scoring the first six points of the game. The Bulldogs led by as many as 20 late in the half before taking a 46-29 lead into the intermission.
The visitors from Athens shot over 56 percent in the opening 20 minutes and went 5-of-10 on 3-point attempts. Texas, meanwhile, shot just 40 percent in the opening frame.
The Bulldogs have had issues holding onto leads this season, but they kept their foot on the gas after halftime, pushing the lead to as much as 27 when they led 67-40 with 11:30 left.
"It was probably more offense for us than defense," White said. "Getting some extra possessions in the offensive glass. Again, just valuing the ball at a high rate. A couple of late-clock fouls that we drew, converted at the foul line. We've got to convert and got to continue to convert at a higher level there. And a couple of late-clock shots, namely a couple by Silas, kept them at arm's length."
Texas never got closer than 15 points the rest of the way as the Bulldogs rolled to the 16-point victory.
The final week of the regular season begins on Tuesday, when White's squad travels to Columbia to face South Carolina.
