Monday, November 7, 2022 08:00 PM (ET)

Florida sails to opening blowout of Stony Brook

Field Level Media
Nov 7, 2022

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

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