Florida’s Alex Condon scored a game-high 25 points and did a little bit of everything Thursday night as the No. 3 Gators rebounded from a season-opening setback, grounding the visiting North Florida Ospreys 104-64 in Gainesville, Fla.
The Gators (1-1), who went 15-1 at home last season, dominated the ASUN school after a slow opening five minutes following their national championship banner unfurling.
Condon shot 8-of-12 from the field and 9-of-10 from the line. He had 10 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals.
Micah Handlogten notched 17 points and 13 boards. Thomas Haugh had 12 points and eight rebounds, while Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee had 10 points apiece.
Olivier Rioux, who stands 7-foot-9, entered in the final minutes and set the record for the tallest player in college basketball history.
After shooting poorly in the second half of Monday’s 93-87 Hall of Fame Series loss to No. 13 Arizona, the Gators shot 49.4%.
However, the SEC squad struggled from long range, draining just 6 of 32 (18.8%) from behind the arc.
The nation’s leader last season in three-pointers attempted at 1,147 (35.8 per game), North Florida (0-1) was playing its first game under new coach Bobby Kennen.
Leading returning scorer Kamrin Oriol had 19 points and Trey Cady totaled 13 points, five rebounds and two steals. The Ospreys made 7 of 28 3-pointers.
The Jacksonville school grabbed two early leads and trailed 9-8 at the first media timeout. Condon’s nine points and six rebounds helped the Gators move ahead 24-10 after a 15-0 run.
Isaiah Brown’s steal and breakaway reverse slam pushed the Gators’ advantage to 40-15 with 5:12 left in the lopsided first half that ended with Fland’s free throw for a 52-28 lead.
Florida emptied the bench and continued to pour it on by outscoring North Florida 52-36 in the second half.
