Colin Castleton scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to help the host Florida Gators cruise to an 81-45 victory over the Milwaukee Panthers on Thursday night in Gainesville, Fla.

Fresh off a huge victory over then-ranked Florida State, snapping a seven-game losing streak against their in-state rival, there was no let up in the 24th-ranked Gators (3-0).

Florida outscored Milwaukee 32-4 over the first 12 minutes and 12 seconds of the second half and 48-23 overall after halftime.

Castelton recorded his second double-double in a row in only 25 minutes on the court and spearheaded another balanced scoring effort from Florida, which led by as many as 39 points in the second half and never trailed.

Tyree Appleby finished with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists while Anthony Duruji and Phlandrous Fleming Jr. each scored 12 points. Duruji and Brandon McKissic each finished with seven rebounds.

Patrick Baldwin Jr. led Milwaukee (1-2) with 13 points on 6 of 15 shooting, along with three rebounds. Markeith Browning II also finished with 11 points and six rebounds.

But the Panthers could never establish much consistent rhythm on the offensive end as Florida continued its strong defensive start to the 2021-22 season.

The Gators were active throughout the game closing out quickly on the perimeter and used their size advantage inside to deny Milwaukee good looks at the rim.

Milwaukee finished with 13 turnovers which led to 18 points for the Gators. Florida outscored the Panthers 40-26 in the paint. The Panthers shot 18 for 58 (31 percent), 9 for 29 in the second half, and made only 2 of their 12 three-point attempts.

Florida was sharp both in transition and in half-court sets, shooting 32 for 68 (47.1 percent) and 11 for 28 (39.3 percent) from 3-point range.

Myreon Jones and Appleby combined to score the Gators' first eight points of the second half and helped spark an 11-0 run to pull ahead by 23 points. Jones totaled seven points, four rebounds and five assists.

--Field Level Media