GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Coaches dread the last game before Christmas break, what with players looking forward to getting out of town and enjoying a few deserved (and needed) days off. The anticipation invites potential distraction, regardless of the opponent.
That was the challenge facing Florida coach Todd Golden and his players heading into Saturday's matinee meeting against North Florida.
"It's usually tough to get motivated, maintain focus and come out and play well," Golden said.
But not always.
With just under 14 minutes remaining in the game Saturday, UF guard Will Richard converted a couple free throws, giving him a career-high 26 points. That was one more point than UNF had at the time, with the seventh-ranked Gators well on their way to a 99-45 clobbering of the Ospreys at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center to remain unbeaten through a dozen games.
Richard came out hot and stayed that way, going 9-for-12 from the floor and six of eight from the 3-point line, to pace an offense that shot just under 45 percent and dropped nine of 20 from distance.
"Just glad we got the win heading into the holidays," Richard said.
His 26 points jumped off the stat sheet, but so did the sight of three UF forwards – sophomore Alex Condon, along with backups Sam Alexis and Thomas Haugh – posting double doubles, as the Gators (12-0) smashed the Ospreys 65-45 on the glass, with a 26-7 advantage on the offensive ends.
Alexis had season highs 14 points and 12 rebounds. Condon posted 10 points and 12 rebounds, with Haugh at 10 and 10.
Backup forward Sam Alexis (4) put up 14 points and 12 rebounds, his most as a Gator.
It was almost as if the Golden Gators took personally Tuesday night's down-to-the-wire, six-point win over North Carolina at Charlotte, they're first game that was determined by a double-digit cushion. UF went into that one with an average victory margin of 21.5 points and left at 19.7. That number, after Saturday, was at 22.6, as the final 54-point margin of victory – with leading scorers Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin attempting just 11 shots and scoring only 16 points – tied for ninth-largest in program history, equaling the 105-51 smashing of North Carolina Central on Nov. 14, 2007.
"These type of games, usually you come out slow and sluggish," Alexis said of the holiday-even circumstances. "We came out with energy."
And buckets. UF scored the game's first 10 points through less than four minutes and led 35-10 with six minutes to go before halftime. Even the Ospreys (7-6), already with high-major road wins at South Carolina and Georgia Tech and armed with the second most-prolific 3-point shooting team in the country at 37 attempts per game, would have struggled to entertain thoughts of bombing their way back into the game.
Certainly not when they were down by 37 at halftime on the way to shooting season lows (by far) of 23.2 percent overall and just 8-for-34 from long range (23.5 percent). The eight makes from deep were more than five below UNF's average of 13.8 per game.
Florida led by as many as 57 with just inside three minutes to play.
"I thought our guys did an incredible job of treating North Florida with respect. We knew they were a very good offensive team," Golden said of an opponent who came in averaging 87.9 points a game, but missing its leading scorer, freshman forward Josh Harris, who was out with an ankle injury. "Our last couple days of practice were really good in terms of our intent and the way we approached how we wanted to guard these guys. Our switching worked. I thought we did a great job limiting [3-point] attempts, limiting second shots and second chances. Overall, great effort. A good game to have right before the break. Pleased where we are right now."
As in (still) one of just four undefeated teams remaining in Division I, a rarity the Gators will gladly take with them over the short holiday break.
Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu
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