Chinyelu's career night and Condon's near triple-double help No. 1 Florida handle Jacksonville

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Rueben Chinyelu scored a career-high 21 points, Alex Condon flirted with a triple-double and No. 1 Florida overwhelmed Jacksonville 88-57 to win their 36th consecutive home opener Thursday night.

Condon finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for the Gators (2-0), who had five players score in double figures.

Thomas Haugh chipped in 14 points, and Denzel Aberdeen and Urban Klavzar added 12 apiece for the home team.

Florida dominated on the boards, outrebounding the Dolphins (1-1) by 27. Chinyelu had eight rebounds, and Haugh added seven.

The Gators closed the first half on a 19-2 run that turned a five-point game into a blowout. Haugh and Aberdeen hit 3-pointers during the spurt, and Condon and Chinyelu scored on dunks.

Condon had seven points, eight rebounds and seven assists at the break, looking like he would join Corey Brewer (2005), Nick Calathes (2008, ’09) and Chris Chiozza (2017) as the only Florida players to record triple-doubles in the last 30 seasons.

But Condon played just eight minutes in the second half as coach Todd Golden turned to his bench to close it out.

The Gators, who struggled to make 3-pointers early last season, hit 11 from behind the arc for the second straight game.

Hayden Wood led the Dolphins with 11 points. James Morrow added nine and was called for two flagrant fouls while trying to defend Condon and Chinyelu.

Up next

Jacksonville: Hosts Kansas City on Monday night.

Florida: At Florida State on Tuesday night.

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