So far, so good.

With a Trey Thompkins slam with 19:15 on the clock in the first half, the first points of the Mark Fox era were on the board, and the route of North Georgia was officially underway, as the Georgia men’s basketball team cruised to a dominating 87-53 victory Friday night.

The talent disparity was obvious, and it showed early, with the Bulldogs’ athleticism overmatching the Saints of North Georgia and racing out to a 45-20 halftime lead, thanks in part to 64.3 percent shooting in the opening half.

“I thought it was a good exhibition for us,” Fox said. “We were able to get a lot of players a lot of looks and a lot of playing time. That’s what you want in an exhibition game.”

With a crowd of 4,580 on hand to witness the dawn of the Fox era, the Bulldogs defense stifled the North Georgia offense from the offset, holding them to 33.9 percent shooting on the game and forcing them into 16 turnovers, many of which led to easy baskets in the open court.

“Well, we struggled, especially on the offensive end of the court. We had trouble scoring,” North Georgia head coach The physicality of [Georgia], particularly inside, made it tough. They were just stronger and more athletic.”

And the beneficiary of many of North Georgia’s mistakes was sophomore Travis Leslie, who scored 21 points, many of them on fast breaks, on 9-for-13 shooting to lead the Dogs, despite only seeing 20 minutes of action, wowing the crowd with three highlight reel one-handed dunks.

“I just went out there and played my game, ran the floor, and came out with a good win,” Leslie said.

“Travis was able to get a lot of things in the open court, and he got some good passes from his teammate,” Fox said. “But he ran the floor well, and he has a nose for the ball.”

Joining Leslie in double-figure scoring were Trey Thompkins with 11 points, and Drazen Zlovaric and Ebuka Anyaorah each with 10. Despite Georgia’s struggles from behind the arc last season, they were able to keep the zone honest, with sophomore Drazen Zlovaric and senior Ricky Mcphee each hitting 2-for-3 from behind the arc to help the Dogs to a 5-for-14 performance on the game from three-point land.

Coach Fox’s emphasis on taking care of the ball in the offseason is clearly still a work in progress, as his team struggled to take care of the ball in the second half, with North Georgia’s second-half full court press forcing 11 second-half turnovers.

“We’re still a work in progress in that regard,” Fox said of the team’s second-half turnovers.

It appears the poor free throw shooting that plagued Georgia for much of last season is an area that will still need focus, as well, after shooting 14-for-25 from the line on the game.

The Bulldogs’ free throw shooting, like so much of the team in Fox’s first season, is still a work in progress. But so far, so good.