Asa Newell scored a game-high 26 points to go along with 11 rebounds, helping lead Georgia to an 83-78 win over Tennessee Tech on Monday at Athens, Ga., in both teams’ season opener.

Dakota Leffew added 18 points off the Georgia bench while RJ Godfrey chipped in 10 points and 10 rebounds as the Bulldogs.

Mekhi Cameron led the Golden Eagles with 21 points, and Kyle Layton followed with 14. Jaylen Johnson and Rodney Johnson Jr. each added 12 in the loss.

Trailing 42-38 at halftime, the Golden Eagles scored the first five points of the second half to take a one-point lead with 18:46 left.

After retaking the lead at 53-50 on Newell’s layup, Georgia saw its lead rise to seven after Blue Cain’s jumper with 11:41 left. Newell’s steal and slam extended the Bulldogs’ advantage to 74-65 with 5:19 remaining.

Cameron then knocked down a 3-pointer to trim the Golden Eagles’ deficit six with 4:59 left. After Tyrin Lawrence’s two free throws, Johnson hit another Tennessee Tech triple to cut Georgia’s lead to 76-71 at the 4:06 mark.

Neither team scored again until Newell’s layup with 2:50 left which extended the Bulldogs’ lead to seven. From there, the Golden Eagles never got closer than four points.

In the first half, Georgia jumped out to an 18-11 lead after back-to-back Newell baskets at the 12:50 mark.

The Bulldogs saw their lead disappear after two straight Daniel Egbuniwe jumpers were followed by a bucket from Cameron that gave the Golden Eagles a 25-24 advantage with 7:49 left in the first half.

After Tennessee Tech led 35-33, Newell’s dunk began a 9-0 Georgia run that was stamped with five-straight points from Leffew, giving the Bulldogs a 42-35 lead. Johnson’s 3-pointer cut Tennessee Tech’s halftime deficit to four.

Newell led all scorers in the first half with 16 points, while Cameron paced the Golden Eagles with 11.