Rueben Chinyelu scores 21 as No. 1 Florida rolls past Jacksonville 88-57

Rueben Chinyelu scored a career-high 21 points, and No. 1 Florida beat Jacksonville 88-57 on Thursday night in its home opener at the O'Connell Center. The Gators are 2-0. The Dolphins fall to 1-1.

Alex Condon finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks, two assists short of a triple-double. Thomas Haugh had 14 points and seven rebounds. Denzel Aberdeen and Urban Klavzar each scored 12.

Florida has now won 36 consecutive home openers. Todd Golden also picked up his 105th win at Florida, moving past Lon Kruger for fifth on the program's coaching list.

The first-half break

Jacksonville stayed within five, 31-26, with under five minutes left in the half. Florida closed on a 19-2 run. Haugh and Aberdeen hit 3s, and Condon and Chinyelu dunked as the Gators took a 50-28 lead into the locker room.

Florida shot 48% from the field and 11 of 25 from 3. Jacksonville shot 33%. The Gators won the glass 52-25 and scored 24 more points in the paint. No Florida starter played more than 26 minutes.

Hayden Wood led Jacksonville with 11 points, all in the first half. Jamie Phillips Jr. added 10.

Top performers

1. Rueben Chinyelu, FLA: 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting, eight rebounds in 22 minutes.
2. Alex Condon, FLA: 12 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks.
3. Thomas Haugh, FLA: 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists.
4. Denzel Aberdeen, FLA: 12 points on 4-of-5 from 3.
5. Hayden Wood, JAX: 11 points (0 in the second half).

The starting frontcourt of Chinyelu, Condon and Haugh combined for 47 points. Florida was plus-24 in the paint and plus-16 on the glass by halftime, then kept emptying the bench inside the final eight minutes.

Condon checked out with about 11 minutes left and Florida ahead by 28. He left needing two assists for the fifth triple-double in program history and the first since Chris Chiozza against Missouri on Feb. 2, 2017.

Florida visits Florida State on Tuesday night in Tallahassee looking for a 3-0 start.