JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Alex Condon scored 19 points, Thomas Haugh added 17 and No. 10 Florida held on to beat rival Miami 82-68 on Sunday night.
Condon and fellow big man Rueben Chinyelu fouled out with more than five minutes to play, but the Gators (3-1) had enough cushion to close it out with the two starters on the bench. It didn't help that backup center Micah Handlogten took a shot to the head in the first half and did not return.
Chinyelu finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for the defending national champion Gators (3-1), who swept in-state foes Florida State and Miami for the first time in two decades.
Condon did his part before fouling out. He made 8 of 12 shot. And after turning the ball over 13 times in Florida’s first three games, the 6-foot-11 Australian was determined to play cleaner and finished with just two giveaways.
Equally important for the Gators: they hit 9 of 29 from behind the arc. Urban Klavžar made four of those. Florida entered the weekend ranked 354th in the country (out of 355 teams) in 3-point shooting, hitting a paltry 21% from long range. Nine was their season high.
Malik Reneau led Miami with 22 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out. Tru Washington added 16 points. The Hurricanes missed 12 free throws that surely will haunt them on the trip home.
Florida opened up a 17-point lead in the second half while pounding the ball inside to Condon, Chinyelu and Haugh. The Hurricanes refused to go away, though, and kept pace with Florida down low. The Gators finished with a 47-41 rebounding advantage and tied Miami with 36 points in the paint.
Up next
Miami hosts Elon on Thursday.
Florida hosts Merrimack on Friday.
