FINAL: Florida 81, Jacksonville 60

What Happened

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Sophomore forward Alex Condon scored a career-high 23 points on a perfect shooting night when he hit all seven of his field-goal attempts, including a pair of 3s, as the 21st-ranked Florida Gators defeated Jacksonville in the their home opener Thursday night at Exatech Arena/O'Connell Center.

Condon, the 6-foot-11, 230-pounder from Australia, did the bulk of his damage in the second half when he went 5-for-5 from the floor, including his two long balls. Fifth-year guard Alijah Martin, the transfer from Florida Atlantic, had his second stat-stuffing effort in as many games with his new team, finishing with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and a career-high six steals.

UF used a first-half run to break open a close game and take a 14-point lead at halftime. Three minutes into the second period, the margin was 19 after Condon made back-to-back layups and guard Will Richard threw down a fast-break dunk. The Dolphins got no closer than 14 the rest of the way.

The Gators shot 52.6 percent for the game, but had another tough night from the 3-point line (like Monday against South Florida) in going just seven of 24 (29.2 percent). They also weren't very sound at the free-throw line (14 of 25). UF defended JU at 37.5 percent after intermission, but was uncharacteristically out-rebounded by the smaller Dolphins, 40-35 overall and 18-12 on the offensive end.

The final margin of 21 points came despite UF's two seniors and top scorers, Walter Clayton Jr. and Richard, tallying just nine and 11 points, respectively. Clayton, though, had a career-high seven assists, just one turnover and rip-roaring, posterizing slam-dunk that shook the Dome in the game's final minutes. Richard had five rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block.

The Dolphins hung around for most of the first half -- down just two at the under-12 timeout -- when Clayton lobbed an alley-oop that backup forward Sam Alexis (10 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks in just 16 minutes) skied to tomahawk and start a 16-4 run that gave the home team a 14-point cushion that stood at halftime. The margin swelled to 19 early in the second half, thanks to quick flurry of three UF baskets (two layups by Condon and a run-out slam by Richard) over just 53 seconds. The closet the Dolphins got was 14.

Senior guard **Walter Clayton Jr.** (1) on the attack Thursday against the Dolphins.

What it Means

This one won't register on the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) meter down the line, but make that 34 consecutive home-opening wins, dating to 1991. The last time UF lost a home opener was a 76-72 defeat against 22nd-ranked Texas (a member of the Southwest Conference at the time, so three leagues ago) on Nov. 27, 1990, in what was the first home game under Coach Lon Kruger.

In the Spotlight

The guy they call "Condo" will have more games like this. And when he does, he'll have more than one rebound.

Staggering Statistic

Of the game's first 11 offensive rebounds, 10 of them went to Dolphins. The Gators were the No. 8 offensive rebounding team in the nation last season, so given what happened on the glass against a low-major opponent the rebounding trend is one that bears watching.

Up Next

Florida (2-0) will be back at the O'Dome Monday night to face Grambling State (1-0), a program coming off the first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. The Tigers went 21-15 last season and won their NCAA play-in game against Montana State in Dayton, Ohio, before going up against Purdue, the No. 1 overall seed in the field, and losing 78-50. Grambling opened the season Monday with a 92-42 blowout of Southern-New Orleans, an NAIA program, and will play its first high-major (and SEC) opponent Friday night at Ole Miss.

- Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu

Gators Calendar