FINAL: Florida 99, North Florida 45

What Happened

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Senior guard Will Richard scored a career-high 26 points, including 18 in a first half when Florida opened a 37-point lead, as the seventh-ranked Gators did a wire-to-wire number Saturday on North Florida, winning 99-45 at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center to remain unbeaten heading into the Christmas holiday break.

Richard went nine of 12 from the floor and six of eight from the 3-point line to go with five rebounds and a couple assists. Two backup forwards, Sam Alexis and Thomas Haugh, came off the bench to tally double-doubles, Alexis, the transfer from Tennessee-Chattanooga, scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while Haugh had 10 points and 10 boards. Sophomore forward Alex Condon made it three double doubles for the home team, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Gators shot 44.7 percent overall, nine of 20 from the 3-point line (45.0 percent) and pulverized UNF on the glass, 65-25, including a program-record 26 on the offensive end. The final 54-point margin of victory was the program's largest in 17 years.

The UF defense, meanwhile, shut down UNF's high-scoring, 3-point-crazy offense. The Ospreys came in averaging 87.9 points per game and 13.6 made 3s on 36.4 percent. They were held nearly 43 points below that per-game average, hit just 23.2 percent of their overall field goals and eight of 34 from the arc (23.5 percent). Yes, they were without leading scorer, freshman forward Josh Harris (16.4 points per game), due to an ankle injury, but did it really matter?

The Gators scored the game's first 10 points and surged to a 35-10 lead with just over six minutes to play in the first half, as the Ospreys were going through an 0-for-10 drought that lasted more than six minutes. UF went into halftime up 54-17. The 37-point margin swelled to as high as 57 late in the second half, well after the Gators had emptied their bench.

Fifth-year guard **Alijah Martin** sizes up for a 3 during Saturday's win over UNF.

What it Means

After a run of five straight games against high-major opponents, the Gators got a chance to beat up on a mid-major foe, work on some things, get some minutes for reserves and escape the dreaded game-before-Christmas-break still undefeated.

In the Spotlight

The unblemished record through a dozen games. Only the second time in school history.

Staggering Statistic

UF's last win by at least 54 points came Nov. 14, 2007, when the Gators defeated North Carolina Central 105-51. Only eight games in the program's 118-year history have finished in more lopsided fashion in Florida's favor.

Up Next

Florida (12-0) will wrap the non-league schedule Dec. 29 with a Sunday matinee date against Stetson (1-10), which by analytics rates as one of the worst teams in all of Division I. After facing the Hatters (who play Fort Lauderdale, a National Christian College Athletic Association program on Sunday), the Gators will open their Southeastern Conference season six days later, Jan. 4, at Kentucky, currently the No. 4-ranked team in the country.

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

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