Amid plenty of outside noise over the past few days regarding sexual harassment and stalking allegations against UF head coach Todd Golden, the Florida men’s basketball team didn’t seem to be distracted whatsoever.
Moreover, the Gators may have looked as sharp as they have all season, en route to its largest margin of victory through Florida’s first three games. Following Golden’s statement he released pertaining to the ongoing investigation, he spoke with the media for the first time since the news broke.
“It feels like normal to be honest,” Golden said of being able to coach in Monday’s game. “This is my job, so it’s my position at the moment.”
Grambling State took a 2-0 lead just over one minute into the contest. However, it proved to be its only lead of the game. The Gators instantly ripped off an 8-0 run and seemingly dominated the rest of the way.
Florida (3-0) protected its home court and maintained its perfect record on the season behind a balanced scoring attack to defeat Grambling State (1-2) 86-62 at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Monday.
“For us to come in and control the game the way we did,” Golden said. “I thought it said a lot and the emphasis we put on the glass was really good as well.”
Sophomore center Reuben Chinyelu and sophomore forward Alex Condon both recorded a block in the first five minutes to set the tone defensively early in the evening.
Offensively, Grambling State struggled to identify just one or two players to focus on stopping, largely due to the seven Gators that recorded points in the first eight minutes of the game.
Perhaps the most significant field goal came on a fast break dunk from UF sophomore guard Denzel Aberdeen, who came off the bench and threw down a ferocious dunk over his defender that blew the roof off the O’Dome. As a result, the Gators grabbed a 16-8 lead with 13:33 left in the first half.
UF rooted its early balanced scoring attack with some impressive ball movement throughout the first 20 minutes of play. Seven of the Gators’ 14 field goals in the first half were assisted largely because of Florida’s ability to continuously swing the ball around the perimeter to find the best shot attempt possible.
Rebounding has been a focus point of improvement for the Gators following their first two games of the season. Nevertheless, it surely wasn’t a problem against Grambling State. In the first ten minutes of the contest, Florida out-rebounded the Tigers 14-6.
Grambling State switched to a 2-3 zone for the back end of the first half, but it didn’t seem to slow down Florida’s offensive momentum. The Gators finished the first half shooting 44 percent from the field and 5-for-13 from 3-point range.
Florida reached the double bonus with 4:59 to go before halftime. Junior forward Sam Alexis promptly stepped to the charity stripe and knocked down a pair of free throws to extend UF’s lead to 32-21.
From there, the closing minutes of the first half were tightly contested. TheGators only outscored the Tigers 11-7 as they took a 48-23 lead into halftime.
In the second half, UF looked far from the high-scoring offensive unit that was put on display in its first two games. Florida nearly shot 73 percent from 2-point territory through its first two contests, which was the No. 1 percentage in the nation from that range.
However, the Gators hardly showed the same efficiency to open the second half. An 0-for-7 shooting skid left Florida scoreless for roughly three minutes before sophomore forward Thomas Haugh banked in a layup to end the drought and give UF a 57-38 advantage with 11:01 left in the game.
From there, the teams traded blows down the home stretch of the game, though the once 30-plus point deficit that Grambling State faced was large enough for UF to secure its third straight victory to open the 2024-25 season.
Chinyelu posted a team-high 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting with three rebounds. Senior guards Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard, alongside Alexis, all posted 12 points. Condon rounded out Florida’s balanced attack with 10 points on 2-of-4 shooting and two blocks.
“He’s [Chinyelu] been kind of finding his way his first couple games,” Golden said. “He’s been really good all summer and all fall… I thought it took him a little longer to get comfortable [early in the season].”
The Gators’ success also came in part due to their stellar play on the boards and on the defensive end of the court. UF out-rebounded GSU 45-24 while holding the Tigers to just 43 percent from the field and 17 percent from 3-point range.
“Defensively, we’re getting better," Golden said. “I thought we guarded the 3-point line the best we had all year including our scrimmages… We did a really good job playing without fouling as well.”
Next, Florida will take on rival Florida State in Tallahassee Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.
Contact Max Tucker at mtucker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @Max_Tuckr1.
Max Tucker is a junior transfer student at UF. After obtaining his A.A. in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, he chose further his education at Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. Max is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a specialization in sports and media. He enjoys golfing and going to the beach with his friends in his free time.
