ATHENS, Ga. (AP) Matt McCall was breathing easily after winning his Chattanooga debut as a first-time head coach.
''I felt like our guys were in the moment the whole game,'' he said. ''I never felt like they got really rattled.''
Casey Jones and Johnathan Burroughs-Cook each scored 23 points and Greg Pryor added 18 to help Chattanooga beat Georgia 92-90 in overtime in their season opener on Friday night.
McCall, a former longtime assistant at Florida, was in great spirits when the Moccasins took their biggest lead of the extra period at seven.
Jones, Chattanooga's senior leader, had just fouled out, but Justin Tuoyo, last year's Southern Conference defensive player of the year, drew big cheers after dunking for his first field goal of the game.
Georgia cut the lead to two twice in the last 27 seconds on 3-pointers by J.J. Frazier. The Bulldogs had a chance at the end when Dee Oldham missed two free throws with seven seconds to go, but freshman William Jackson's 35-foot, 3-point attempt wasn't close at the buzzer.
''They made a couple of big shots and the crowd got into it, so we just had to stay calm,'' Pryor said. ''The game just came to us.''
Frazier finished with 22 points. Charles Mann and Yante Maten each had 17 for Georgia.
The Bulldogs got off to a sluggish start in their attempt to win 20 games for an unprecedented third straight season.
''If we pack it up now after one game, we're never going to be good,'' Frazier said. ''It's just one game out of 30. We'll get it back together.''
Burroughs-Cook, a junior transfer, scored twice in the first half to give Chattanooga its game-high lead of 11 points, but he missed a 3 at the regulation buzzer.
Georgia took its first lead at 53-52 on Frazier's layup midway through the second half.
Frazier hit a 3 with 45 seconds left in regulation for Georgia's last lead of the game. Mann missed a free throw and made one to tie it 74-all with 12.8 seconds to go.
---
TIP-INS
Chattanooga: With Burroughs-Cook coming off the bench, the Mocs' reserves outscored Georgia 40-17. Oldham had nine points.
Georgia: E'Torrion Wilridge was the Bulldogs' leading reserve with eight points. His fastbreak dunk midway through the second half forced a 47-all tie. Georgia was without junior guard Juwan Parker (Achilles) and freshman forward Derek Ogbeide (shoulder).
STAR TURNS
Chattanooga: Jones, the preseason Southern Conference Player of the Year, had two layups, a 3 and two free throws in the last 3:50 of regulation.
Georgia: Senior guards Mann and Gaines, two of nine players named to the preseason All-SEC first team, did not start the season as well as they hoped. Mann fouled out in the final minute of overtime. Gaines, who scored 25 points against Chattanooga last season, had 12 points and three rebounds before fouling out at the 5:21 mark of regulation. He and Mann combined for three assists and 11 turnovers. Mann missed six foul shots.
BIG TURNAROUND
The Moccasins, who improved to 5-30 against Georgia, lost by 31 points to the Bulldogs in each of the last two seasons. The difference this time was scoring 25 points off 21 Georgia turnovers.
UP NEXT
Chattanooga: Hosts Hiwassee on Monday.
Georgia: Hosts Murray State next Friday.
