Alex Condon leads No. 21 Florida basketball to home opening rout of Jacksonville
Sophomore forward Alex Condon scored a career-high 23 points, lifting No. 21 Florida basketball to a 81-60 win over Jacksonville on Thursday night at the O'Connell Center.
The 6-foot-11 Condon scored both inside and outside, going 7 from 7 from the floor, 2 for 2 from 3-point range and 7 of 12 from the foul line.
The Florida Gators (2-0) enjoyed a successful home debut, building a 46-32 halftime lead before extending it to as many as 27 points in the second half.
Alijah Martin, an FAU transfer, added 15 points and four assists in his home UF debut while Will Richard had a solid all-around floor game with 11 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Sam Alexis scored 10 points off the bench and Walter Clayton Jr. had nine points and seven assists.
Robert McCray III led Jacksonville (1-1) with 20 points.
Florida won its 34th straight home opener, dating back to 1990. Florida has won 15 of its past 16 games at the O'Connell Center dating back to the start of the 2023-24 season.
Here are three takeaways from the UF win:
Florida basketball continues to attack the rim effectively
The Gators overcame another up-and-down day shooting from 3-point range by going 23 of 33 on two-point shots and 14 of 25 from the foul line. Florida finished 7 of 24 from beyond the arc after going 5 of 25 in its season opener against USF.
Sam Alexis continued to show promise for Florida basketball off the bench
The 6-foot-8 Alexis, a transfer from Chattanooga, finished with 10 points and seven rebounds and four blocks, allowing Florida to finish with a slim 17-13 edge over Jacksonville in bench points.
Florida basketball defense blankets Jacksonville in the first half
With Florida up 23-21, The Gators went on a 16-4 run fueled by defense, going up 35-29 on a 3-pointer by Martin with 5:45 left in the half.
Overall, Florida recorded five steals and forced 14 JU turnovers in the first half, holding the Dolphins to 38.2% shooting from the floor.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun's Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida basketball tops Jacksonville in home opener at O'Connell Center
