The Florida Gators men’s basketball team took care of business Wednesday night with a 102-61 win over the Saint Francis Red Flash.
Xaivian Lee led all scorers with 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting (2-for-4 from 3-point range). Alex Condon (14 points) and Rueben Chinyelu (12), Boogie Fland (11) and sixth man Urban Klavzar (11) also reached double figures in a well-balanced attack from the Gators. Chinyelu stayed in just long enough to notch his fifth double-double of the year.
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The only starter who laid low was Thomas Haugh. He’s averaging 35 minutes per game and only played 25 in this one, posting five points, four assists and three rebounds.
Florida played 13 players, including Olivier Rioux, who entered the game with 1:46 left to go. He threw down a dunk for the Gators’ final points.
Florida had things wrapped up by halftime
The Gators led 47-23 at halftime and led in every statistical category that matters. Florida shot 64% from the field and 36% from 3-point range. They dominated the glass, outrebounding the Red Flash 22-9. Five offensive rebounds is low for the Gators, but poor shooting usually leads to more opportunities. Golden probably didn’t care about that figure being low.
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Golden puts a heavy focus on “kills,” which is when the defense makes three consecutive stops. Florida did it four times in the first half, including a five-possession stretch that started just before the 12-minute mark hit. The other two areas he wants his team to work on are defending without fouling and limiting turnovers. Florida forced five turnovers and had four blocks to just five personal fouls, including two uncharacteristic ones from Xaivian Lee. That’s one box checked off.
Turning the ball over six times might not have sat well with him, but that’s the only complaint anyone can have over the first 20 minutes.
The Gators dominated the frontcourt battle all night
Everyone knows Florida’s frontcourt is elite. There was never a chance for Saint Francis’ bigs to outplay them, but it’s still fun to see these guys completely outclass their opponents. Rueben Chinyelu got any rebound he wanted, and it only took a matter of minutes for him to polish off his double-double after finishing the first half with two. He also shot 5-for-5 from the field.
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Alex Condon had one of his better offensive performances of the year. His arsenal of post moves could have led to a 40-point game, but Golden and Co. chose to be respectful and limit him to 14 — 12 of which came in the first half. Don’t forget about the three blocks, too. The only problem with Condon’s game is that he’s hoisting up bricks from deep. The 3-point shot is failing him this year — 0-for-2 tonight — and it might be time to quit trying them.
Micah Handlogten went 4-for-4 from the field and hit both his free throws, finishing one leg of a double-double over 17 minutes. He tied Chinyelu with four offensive boards, but he came up two total rebounds short of the 10 he needed for the second leg. Still, it was one of his better nights since breaking his leg in the 2024 SEC Championship game.
Florida bench gets some action
Golden mentioned after the George Washington win that he’d like the bench players to show a bit more. This felt like the right game to get them in, and there was some good and bad.
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Aside from Handlogten, Urban Klavzar played 23 minutes, scoring 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Four turnovers isn’t great, though, even if one was an alley-oop attempt to Olivier Rioux, who wasn’t looking for it.
Isaiah Brown, CJ Ingram and Alex Lloyd played 15, 12 and seven minutes, respectively. Brown was the most effective with a plus-minus of 17, one higher than Klavzar. He threw down an alley-oop dunk and hit a 3 as well. Ingram buried a corner three but ran into some foul trouble (three), albeit with some soft calls going against him. Lloyd struggled the most, going 0-for-2 with both shots coming from beyond the arc. He’s still a freshman, so give him time to develop.
The reserves got some playing time too. Chants of “we want Olly” started with six minutes left in the game. He only got to play about 100 seconds of ball, though. Rioux made the most of it, throwing down his first dunk at the college level. Viktor Mikic had four points, a 3-pointer and a free throw, and Alex Kovatchev buried an NBA-range 3.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida Gators basketball vs. Saint Francis Red Flash recap, takeaways
