ATHENS — Head coach Mark Fox has looked down his bench with uncertainty many times this season, unsure of the contribution his reserves could add to the game.

In Saturday’s 78-63 upset over No. 8 Tennessee, Fox began to gain confidence in a few of his role players, as they in turn began believing in themselves.

Junior forward Jeremy Price played 25 minutes, scoring nine points. Freshman guard Ebuka Anyaorah added seven points and four assists in 15 minutes of play.

Those two players alone may have Fox seeing a different bench when he looks over his shoulder in games to come.

“Our bench, as much as I’ve been critical of our bench, our bench gave us some significant minutes (Saturday) and allowed some of our guys to be fresher down the stretch,” Fox said.

He has relied on his starting unit, running them ragged out of necessity, with four key players averaging more than 35 minutes. In three previous SEC losses, Anyaorah averaged less than four minutes a game and didn’t score a single point. Price was on the court 15 minutes, averaging close to five points.

Fox knew his prized scorers, Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie, as well as trusted point guard Dustin Ware and shooter Ricky McPhee couldn’t maintain the torrid pace all season.

With six days off before the Tennessee game, Fox used his practice time wisely.

“The first group, I’ve tried to get their legs back underneath them some,” he said. “Just the wear and tear has worn on us a little bit. With the guys coming off the bench, we’ve tried to develop them to be a little more effective players so we can get some productivity off our bench. And that’s important for us.”

And Saturday, Fox got what he wanted. Before the game, he told his bench players not to put too much pressure on themselves when they got in the game. He wanted them to blend into the flow of the action, not trying to do too much, but to try to play with the same energy as the starters.

“Coach was just stressing that our bench needed to help out because our starters have been mentally and emotionally drained at the end of games,” Anyaorah said. “We came off with as much energy as we could to help out. Rebounding, playing defense, getting to the line, whatever we could do to help. Coach told us not have the mentality that we had to score but to try to do a little bit of everything. We just came out to match the energy on the court, so we came out as hard we could.”

Price entered two minutes into the game, and a few possessions later assaulted the rim with a tremendous two-handed slam. The dunk sent the crowd, already going wild from a dunk by Leslie, to a noise level rarely achieved at Stegeman Coliseum. While Tennessee called timeout, Price flexed his muscles and let out a scream of approval. His confidence was on the rise.

“Jeremy came in and played huge for us. He played real good defense on the block on Wayne (Chism) and really just made a bunch of buckets that we needed,” Ware said.

For Price, who two years ago was freshman All-SEC, teammates say this game could be the catalyst for jumpstarting his production once again.

“He’s still working hard and we all know what he can do,” Ware said. “Really just going out and believing in himself and to start producing. He played extremely well (Saturday), and if I know the type of guy Jeremy is, he’s going to want to start building on that. I’m excited to see him in the next game.”

Anyaorah was aggressive, yet under control, in attacking the basket. He got to the free-throw line twice, hitting all four free throws, and dished out four assists through lane he created with his dribble drives. And his energy was on display. After a three-point shot Anyaorah hit, he shimmied and fist-pumped back down to the defensive end of the court, evidencing the confidence creeping into his play.

“Yeah, it has been hard, knowing I’ve been contributing, but Coach let me know I was underachieving, so lately in practice I’ve been giving it my all, and he sees that,” Anyaorah said. “(Saturday) I gave it my all again, and I got pretty good minutes and had a pretty good game. I’m happy with that.”

Price and Anyaorah gained confidence through their play Saturday. But perhaps more importantly, Fox started believing in them, as well.

Not a single starter played more than 34 minutes.

“The more they gain confidence, the better we’re going to be playing,” starter Albert Jackson said. “I think Coach was kind of nervous at first because he took me out with one foul and he said, ‘Don’t foul when you get back in there. Don’t foul anymore.’ But as the game wore on and Jeremy came in and played amazing, Coach started gaining confidence in our bench. Then Ebuka came in and played amazing, and you could see Coach gaining more confidence in our bench. You could see in crunch time Coach was still putting them in there.”