Alex Fudge led three Florida players in double figures with 16 points as the Gators rolled to an 81-45 win over Stony Brook on Monday in the season opener for both teams at Gainesville, Fla.
Will Richard added 14 points for the Gators, while preseason All-Southeastern Conference forward Colin Castleton had a solid all-around floor game with 13 points, five rebounds and four blocks.
It was a successful debut for Florida coach Todd Golden, who at 37 is the youngest coach in the SEC. Golden was hired in the offseason from San Francisco, where he went 57-36 in three seasons.
Richard, a transfer from Belmont, and Fudge, a transfer from LSU, are two of the new faces on the Florida roster brought in by Golden. The Gators were the more physical team, outrebounding the Seawolves 44-28 and outscoring them 32-14 on points in the paint.
Frankie Policelli led Stony Brook with 11 points. Kenan Sarvan had eight points, and Tyler Stephenson-Moore contributed seven points and nine rebounds.
Florida scored the game's first 12 points and held Stony Brook to just one field goal through the first 8:50 of the game to jump to an early 22-3 lead. Fudge scored seven straight points during a 10-0 run, capping the surge with a 3-pointer to give the Gators the early 19-point edge.
The Gators maintained the double-digit advantage for the rest of the half, taking a 38-22 lead into halftime. Florida held Stony Brook to 27.6 percent shooting before the break while scoring 10 points off eight Seawolves turnovers.
Florida hit 48.6 percent of its field-goal attempts in the first 20 minutes though it hit only 3 of 15 from 3-point range.
On the night overall, the Gators outshot the Seawolves 47.5 percent to 30.8 percent. Florida sank 10 of 25 3-point tries while Stony Brook was 6 of 28.
--Field Level Media
Stony Brook | Florida | |
Frankie Policelli 11 | Scoring | Alex Fudge 16 |
Toby Onyekonwu 2 | Assists | Trey Bonham 4 |
Tyler Stephenson-Moore 9 | Rebounds | Trey Bonham 5 |
Frankie Policelli 4 | Free Throws Made | Will Richard 4 |
Tyler Stephenson-Moore 2 | Steals | Will Richard 2 |
Keenan Fitzmorris 1 | Blocks | Colin Castleton 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Stony Brook | 45 | 30.8 | 6-28 | 7-13 | 9 | 25 | 2 | 6 | 18 |
Florida | 81 | 47.5 | 10-25 | 13-18 | 12 | 40 | 4 | 8 | 10 |