Monday’s 99-82 victory over Eastern Kentucky may look impressive, but head coach Mike White says his team has plenty of work yet to do before next week’s season-opener in Las Vegas against Oregon.

“I thought we did some good things, but there’s a lot we’ve got to work on,” White said. “But that’s why you play these games. This was a really fast-paced game. The score could have indicated a little bit more, but this was two teams that really got after it from a tempo standpoint.”

Six different players finished in double-figures for the Bulldogs.

Illinois transfer RJ Melendez led the way with 21 points, just missing out on a double-double and grabbing nine rebounds. Center Russel Tchewa did accomplish the feat, scoring 10 points to go along with 11 boards.

Other Bulldogs in double-figures included Noah Thomasson with 15, with Silas Demary Jr, Blue Cain, and Jabri-Abdur Rahim each chipping in with 12.

“We just wanted to emphasize our culture, be competitive as a team, and do the little details we’ll need starting next week against Oregon,” Melendez said. “We just needed to make sure we stayed focused with our matchups. We just tried to get better.”

Georgia fans attending the game were treated to several different combinations after taking the court with a starting lineup that featured RJ Sunahra, Silas Demary Jr., Melendez, Thomasson, and Tchewa.

“We’ve got a lot of parity. I keep saying we’ve got healthy competition, and we’ll be willing to experiment going forward,” White said. “We’ll go with a gut feeling on that one. Who knows what it will look like next week?”

White was impressed with the performance of Demery, who was part of a four-guard lineup for the Bulldogs with Thomasson, Justin Hill, and Blue Cain.

“Against a team that presses you literally for 40 minutes, I thought Silas showed a lot of poise, and not surprisingly,” White said. “He’s mature for his age, for sure.”

Demery said progress was made.

“We definitely learned how to play off each other. We definitely learned what each other’s strengths were. Even though we’ve kind of seen it already, seeing it under the bright lights in game setting, was good,” Demery said. “I thought our transition defense was a very big thing for us, and I feel we did pretty good with that as well.”

The 99 points represented more points than the Bulldogs scored in any game last year.

However, White said fans probably should not count on those totals in every game this year.

“Not in the SEC. It will be hard to do it Monday night (against Oregon). That said, our tempo was pretty good, and I think this team will be a little better with continuity-type stuff where we’re free-flowing and just playing," White said. "Hopefully, we're a little bit better in the open floor, and I like the way this team shares it. It wasn’t on full display tonight with the way that EKU defends you.

"They forced us to put our heads down and drive a little more than we like to, but we’ll see some of that in our league, too. Other than that, we’ve got to get to the offensive glass more, and we’ve got to convert from the foul line better.”

Grad transfer RJ Sunahara had to leave the game in the first half after injuring his knee.

Sunahara, who scored four points before exiting, returned to the court with ice on his knee.

“There’s always concern. But you just don’t know, you just don’t know,” White said. “We’re hopeful. Hopefully, we’ll know something tonight, tomorrow—who knows?"

Transfer Jalen DeLoach did not play due to an injury he suffered earlier this week.

“JJ has been out a few days now with a leg issue,” White said. “We’ll see here.”