Talented frontcourt powers Georgia past North Florida on RJ Godfrey’s career night

UGA PF RJ Godfrey never had a double-double in his first two years as a college basketball player. Three games into his first season at Georgia, the 6’9” Clemson transfer has two of them. 

Godfrey poured in 21 points and 12 rebounds on Tuesday night, leading an energetic Georgia team to a 90-77 win over ascendant mid-major program North Florida out of the Atlantic Sun. Godfrey’s 21 points came on an 8/11 shooting performance from the field. The junior did most of his work at the rim, using an array of moves to take 8 shot attempts at the rim. He also pulled down 4 offensive rebounds in the win. 

The Ospreys came into Stegeman Coliseum at 3-0, having already knocked off South Carolina and Georgia Tech on their home floors. They played fast-paced and took 37 attempts from three-point range, but the Bulldogs defended well and led from the start. 

“Good win for us. North Florida is really good,” said Georgia coach Mike White. “They'll be one of the better offensive mid-major teams in the country this year.“

Some late threes gave UNF a 12/37 night from deep, but Georgia controlled the game and led by double digits for all but a few moments in the second half. The score was 33-27 with 4:20 to go in the first, but an 8-0 Bulldogs run over the next 90 seconds gave UGA a 14-point lead. 

Godfrey’s stat line was the best of the night, but he wasn’t the only member of UGA’s front court to have a strong outing. Georgia used its frontline depth to hunt high percentage shots. The Bulldogs had 48 points in the paint, including 7 dunks. Georgia made 6 threes on just 15 attempts after hoisting 34 shots from behind the arc in their 92-64 win over Texas Southern on Sunday. 

5* freshman F Asa Newell teamed up with Godfrey and fellow blue-chip recruit Somto Cyril to give Georgia 8 blocks and hold UNF to just 8/17 shooting at the rim. That trio plus returning sophomore Dylan James has given Georgia a group of high level post players. 

UGA coach Mike White spoke about the energy of that group in comments to reporters after the game. “That starting frontcourt for us, they've got motors. They just play hard. They change ends. They can move laterally. They're very active frontcourt guys, very versatile, and our other frontcourt guys compliment them. They're different, of course, but RJ was fantastic tonight. Happy for him.”

One would have to look far into the past to find the last time UGA possessed this many big men capable of this much. Last year’s team averaged just 3.3 blocks a game and was outrebounded by 2.3 boards a night on average. On this night, Georgia was +9 in the rebounding category and had 13 offensive boards. Newell had a relatively quiet 13 points, but he pulled down 7 rebounds on the offensive end and tallied 3 blocks. He’s now blocked at leastvvv shots in each of his first 3 college games. The last UGA player to have 3+ blocks in three games in the same season was current NBA PF Nic Claxton in 2018-2019. 

All five UGA starters reached double figures as Georgia poured in 53.4% of its shot attempts from the field. Sophomore Blue Cain had 11 and Vanderbilt transfer Tyrin Lawrence scored 15. 

Returning PG Silas Demary Jr. continued a strong start to his second season in the red and black. He had 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in a well-rounded performance. This was his second game with 15+ points and 5+ rebounds this season.

Sixth man Dakota Leffew scored 10 points and helped spark UGA defensively with 2 blocks and 1 steal. 

Georgia will be back in action on Friday at 8:00 PM on the road against rival Georgia Tech. The game will be UGA’s first away from home this season, and it will be televised on ESPN.