GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Alex Condon had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Micah Handlogten notched his second double-double in as many games and No. 3 Florida bounced back from a season-opening loss with a 104-64 drubbing of North Florida on Thursday night.
It was so lopsided that 7-9 walk-on Olivier Rioux, the world’s tallest teenager, made his collegiate debut. The 19-year-old Gators freshman got the loudest ovation of the night when he entered the game with 2:09 to play.
Coming off a five-point loss to 13th-ranked Arizona in Las Vegas, the Gators (1-1) unveiled their national championship banner during pregame introductions and then put on a show in their home opener.
Condon dominated inside three nights after getting outplayed by freshman Koa Peat, adding 4 assists, 3 blocks and 2 ste…
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Alex Condon had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Micah Handlogten notched his second double-double in as many games and No. 3 Florida bounced back from a season-opening loss with a 104-64 drubbing of North Florida on Thursday night.
It was so lopsided that 7-9 walk-on Olivier Rioux, the world’s tallest teenager, made his collegiate debut. The 19-year-old Gators freshman got the loudest ovation of the night when he entered the game with 2:09 to play.
Coming off a five-point loss to 13th-ranked Arizona in Las Vegas, the Gators (1-1) unveiled their national championship banner during pregame introductions and then put on a show in their home opener.
Condon dominated inside three nights after getting outplayed by freshman Koa Peat, adding 4 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Handlogten finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Thomas Haugh chipped in 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists for the Gators. Arkansas transfer Boogie Fland contributed 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, 3 assists and 2 rebounds.
North Florida (0-1) was hardly a factor in its season opener, the first game under new Coach Bobby Keenen. Kamrin Oriol led the way with 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting. The rest of the team managed a combined 11 field goals.
NO. 11 LOUISVILLE 106,
JACKSON ST. 70
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Ryan Conwell scored 14 of his 19 points in the first half, Kasean Pryor returned to the court for the first time since he tore his ACL nearly a year ago, and No. 11 Louisville cruised past Jackson State.
Mikel Brown Jr. had 18 points and nine assists for Louisville (2-0). The Cardinals played without J’Vonne Hadley, the lone returning starter from last season’s squad, who’s in the concussion protocol.
Daeshun Ruffin led the Tigers (0-2) with 22 points. Jayme Mitchell Jr. added 20 points and Dorian McMillian scored 18.
NO. 16 IOWA ST. 102,
GRAMBLING ST. 62
AMES, Iowa – Joshua Jefferson scored 20 points to lead six Iowa State players in double figures, and the 16th-ranked Cyclones defeated Grambling State.
Milan Momcilovic, Killyan Toure and Jamarion Batemon scored 11 points apiece and Dominick Nelson and Tamin Lipsey had 10 points each for Iowa State (2-0).
Antonio Munoz led Grambling State (1-1) with 16 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds.
NO. 20 AUBURN 95,
MERRIMACK 57
AUBURN, Ala. – Keyshawn Hall scored 25 points to lead No. 20 Auburn (2-0) to a win over Merrimack. He also had 14 rebounds for his first double-double with the Tigers.
Emeka Opurum had 11 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks in his Auburn debut after missing the season opener, and the Tigers remained undefeated under first-year Coach Steven Pearl after beating Bethune-Cookman 95-90 in overtime Monday.
Ernest Shelton led the Warriors (0-2) with 23 points.
TOP 25 WOMEN
NO. 3 UCLA 87,
UC SANTA BARBARA 50
LOS ANGELES – UCLA’s three-guard lineup of Gabriela Jaquez, Kiki Rice and Utah transfer Gianna Kneepkens each scored 20 points or more in the third-ranked Bruins’ rout of UC Santa Barbara.
Jaquez shot 7 of 11 from the floor for 21 points and had 6 rebounds, Rice made all seven of her free throws for 20 points to go with 8 rebounds, and Kneepkens finished with 20 points. Jaquez and Kneepkens each hit four of UCLA’s 10 three-pointers.
The Bruins (2-0) got 12 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists from Lauren Betts in their home opener at Pauley Pavilion.
Olivia Bradley led UCSB (1-1) with 11 points. Julia Puente-Valverde added 10 while in foul trouble.
NO. 5 LSU 115,
SE LOUISIANA 26
BATON ROUGE – Flau’Jae Johnson scored 17 points to lead No. 5 LSU to a rout of Southeastern Louisiana.
ZaKiya Johnson scored 16, Bella Hines added 14 and Grace Knox had 11 for the Tigers (2-0). Notre Dame transfer Kate Koval added 16 points and a team-best nine rebounds.
Mari Dangerfield led the way for Southeastern Louisiana (1-1) with eight points.
NO. 10 MARYLAND 87,
UMBC 54
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Oluchi Okananwa and Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu scored 15 points apiece and No. 10 Maryland pulled away from UMBC in the second half for a victory.
Indiana transfer Yarden Garzon had 12 points for the Terrapins (2-0), who got scoring from 12 players. Second-year Arkansas transfer Saylor Poffenbarger added 11 points.
Jade Tillman led the Retrievers (1-1) with 17 points.
The Terps scored 23 points off 21 UMBC turnovers. Freshman guard Lea Bartelme had seven assists for Maryland.
NO. 11 NORTH CAROLINA 71,
ELON 37
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Indya Nivar had 13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 steals, Ciera Toomey added 12 rebounds and 8 points, and No. 11 North Carolina used a big second half to rout Elon.
The game was close in the first half, with North Carolina needing a 7-0 run at the end of the half to take a 29-20 lead.
Lanie Grant scored 11 points, while Nyla Harris, Nyla Brooks and Taliyah Henderson each scored 10 for North Carolina (2-0). LaNae’ Corbett had 10 points and six points – both team highs – for Elon (1-1).
NO. 17 TCU 82,
NORTH CAROLINA A&T 43
FORT WORTH – Marta Suarez scored 19 points, Olivia Miles had 16 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in her TCU debut, and the No. 17 Horned Frogs began their season with a victory over North Carolina A&T.
Donovyn Hunter added 17 points, Clara Silva had 13 and Taylor Bigby scored 10 off the bench for TCU (1-0), which has won 13 straight season openers. The Horned Frogs are 16-0 in November home games under Coach Mark Campbell.
Chaniya Clark scored eight points for North Carolina A&T (0-2), which fell 78-40 to Texas Tech on Monday in its season opener.
NO. 22 OKLAHOMA ST. 105,
LANGSTON (OKLA.) 35
STILLWATER, Okla. – Lena Girardi scored 29 points and set a program record for most three-pointers in a game by a freshman with nine, and No. 22 Oklahoma State routed NAIA-member Langston (Okla.).
Girardi went 9 of 16 from three-point range, while Langston (2-1) was 8 of 41 as a team.
Micah Gray and Amari Whiting each scored 15 points, Haleigh Timmer had 13 and backup Jadyn Wooten added 10 for the Cowgirls (3-0).
NO. 24 KENTUCKY 104,
MONMOUTH 49
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Lexi Blue set career highs with 18 points and six three-pointers, Amelia Hassett tallied 17 points and seven rebounds, and No. 24 Kentucky made 17 three-pointers in a victory over Monmouth.
Teonni Key and Asia Boone each added 14 points for Kentucky (2-0).
Alexis Andrews led Monmouth (1-1) with 12 points.