Rueben Chinyelu scored a career-high 21 points and Alex Condon nearly recorded a triple-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists to lead No. 1 Florida to an 88-57 victory over Jacksonville on Thursday night in Gainesville, Fla.
The Gators (2-0) won their 36th consecutive home opener, imposing their will in the frontcourt behind Chinyelu, Condon and Thomas Haugh, who finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Chinyelu also grabbed eight rebounds, and Condon had three blocks as Florida won the battle of the boards 52-25.
The Gators, who have won the last six meetings between the teams, outscored Jacksonville 36-12 in the paint and collected 20 offensive rebounds to just eight for the Dolphins (1-1).
Jacksonville kept the game competitive in the first half, led by Hayden Wood’s 11 points and three rebounds and Jamie Phillips Jr.’s eight points.
Leading 31-26 with 4:46 remaining in the first half, the Gators broke the game open with a 19-2 run to take a 50-28 lead into halftime.
Jacksonville scored the first seven points of the second half, creating turnovers that led to transition baskets.
But the Gators held the Dolphins at bay with a 7-0 run that extended their lead to 59-37 with 16:11 remaining.
Florida’s advantage swelled to 34 points with 8:32 left.
Denzel Aberdeen complemented Florida’s strong frontcourt play with solid outside shooting. He scored 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting from 3-point range. Urban Klavzar also had 12 points and went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
The Gators showed improved accuracy from long distance, an area of weakness last season. Florida shot 11-for-25 (44.0%) from 3-point range while holding the Dolphins to 6-for-21 shooting (28.6%) from beyond the arc and 19-for-57 (33.3%) overall.
Florida shot 19-for-27 from the free-throw line and overcame 14 turnovers.