GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida scored the game's first 16 points on Monday, and the Gators took a 19-2 lead on a 3-pointer by Alex Condon 6:29 into the first half, but Loyola University Maryland played Florida nearly even from that point forward in a 93-73 Gators win to open the 2023-24 season.
Florida (1-0 overall) made 8 of its first 11 shots, while the Greyhounds missed their first five, and the Gators built a lead and looked to run away with the game.
A
Golden Dike layup with 5:46 to go in the first half cut the Loyola deficit to 10, 31-21, and the Greyhounds had two possessions to bring the Florida lead down to single digits, but shots did not fall both times.
Riley Kugel stretched the advantage back to 17, 42-25, with 81 ticks left in the first half, but Loyola scored the last five points of the stanza, the final three coming on a corner three by
David Brown III as time expired. That cut the halftime score to 42-30 in favor of the Gators.
Florida scored the first seven of the second half, and it had its largest lead of the game at 19, and a Mitch Handlogten three at 15:42 moved the gap to 58-38.
It stretched to 25 minutes later, but the Greyhounds chipped away, and a three by
D'Angelo Stines got the margin to 17, 73-56, with 9:43 left in regulation.
Over the last 33-plus minutes of the game, Florida outscored Loyola by just three.
Dike led Loyola with 16 points and six rebounds, while
Tyson Commander scored 15, and
D'Angelo Stines added 13. Brown III and
Chris Kuzemka both had eight off the bench.
Kugel had a game-best 23 points for the Gators.
Loyola will stay on the road for its next game, an 11:30 a.m. start at Brown University on Saturday, November 11, in Providence, Rhode Island.
