It may not be the way coach Mark Fox wanted his Bulldogs to head into the SEC schedule, but Georgia is sure to have many more hard-fought games ahead similar to its 64-57 victory over Eastern Kentucky at Stegeman Coliseum on Friday.

Trey Thompkins scored a game-high 26 points and Travis Leslie added 14 as the Bulldogs (11-2) ran their winning streak to eight games.

Georgia begins its SEC schedule with a jolt, as it plays host to No. 12 Kentucky – which cruised past Louisville 78-63 on Friday – on Jan. 8.

The Bulldogs will need a better performance than they showed against EKU, which looked anything like a 5-8 team in hanging on the road until the final minutes.

Jeff Johnson's 18 points off the bench fueled the Colonels, who played most of the game without starter Justin Stommes, who sprained an ankle five minutes in and didn't return.

Still, Georgia couldn't shake the Colonels, as the Bulldogs took a 34-33 halftime edge. They didn't pull away until a 6-0 spurt gave them their largest lead at 59-50, highlighted by 6-foot-1 guard Gerald Robinson's alley-oop dunk.

The programs hadn't played since November 2005, when the Bulldogs won 76-68.