Alex Condon Scores 16 as No. 1 Florida Pulls Away From Merrimack 83-54

For about 12 minutes, Merrimack played like a team that had read the scouting report on the No. 1 team in the country and decided it simply did not apply. Then the Gators went to the glass, went to the free throw line, and went on a 15-0 run that turned a respectable road loss into a blowout. Alex Condon scored 16 points without missing a free throw, Thomas Haugh added 15, and Florida rolled past Merrimack 83-54 on Friday night in Gainesville.

The Gators are 4-0 and still unbeaten as the top-ranked team in the AP poll. Merrimack falls to 1-3. With three games in three days coming next week, this was the night Florida wanted: no drama after halftime, no starter over 28 minutes, and 26 bench points.

The Warriors Came to Play, for a While

Merrimack did not look like a 35.5-point underdog early. AJ Lesburt Jr. hit a 3 on the Warriors' first possession, Ayden Johnson answered a Condon layup with a jumper, and the visitors led 5-4 two minutes in. After Alex Lloyd's 3 put Florida back in front, Lesburt scored on a layup to tie it 7-7 with 16:50 left in the half.

That was the last time Merrimack was even. Florida took the lead for good on a pair of Condon free throws, and Urban Klavzar and Denzel Aberdeen hit 3s about a minute apart to push the margin to 15-9. Still, Merrimack kept chipping. Johnson's jumper with 12:09 left made it 17-13, and the Warriors were getting the shots they wanted.

Then Florida flipped the switch. Haugh hit a jumper, Isaiah Brown threw down a dunk, Lloyd buried another 3 and Condon dunked off a feed from Rueben Chinyelu. Nine straight points, and it was 26-13 at the 8:31 mark.

Anglin's Answer, and Florida's Reply

Merrimack's response was the best stretch it put together all night. Denver Anglin drilled 3s on consecutive possessions, and when Todd Brogna scored at the rim with 4:30 left in the half, the deficit was down to 28-21.

It did not last. Florida closed the half on a 15-5 burst, and the big men did the damage. Klavzar converted a three-point play, Chinyelu scored on a layup, Lloyd dunked, and then Chinyelu hammered home two dunks in the final 37 seconds, the last one off a Klavzar feed with two seconds on the clock.

At the break it was 43-26, and the numbers already told the story. Florida had 16 field goals, 12 of them inside the arc. Merrimack had four 3-pointers and zero free throw attempts.

The Turning Point: 15-0 Out of the Locker Room

If the first half was a warning, the opening minutes of the second half were the sentence. Johnson made two free throws at the 17:24 mark to make it 46-28, and then Merrimack did not score again for more than six minutes. The Warriors missed their first 10 field goal attempts of the half.

Florida used that window to bury the game. Haugh scored on a layup. Chinyelu finished a Condon assist and then made two free throws. Haugh threw down a dunk off another Condon pass. Lloyd hit a third 3, this one set up by Haugh, and Condon hit a jumper and two more free throws. By the time Elijah Wilborn finally got Merrimack on the board with 11:00 left, the run had reached 15-0 and Florida led 61-28.

The ball found the bigs early, the bigs found each other, and Merrimack had no counter. The lead peaked at 34 when Klavzar made two free throws with 9:12 left to make it 67-33.

Condon Runs the Show From the Middle

Condon's box score line is quietly excellent: 16 points on 4 of 7 shooting, a perfect 8 of 8 at the line, six rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block in 22 minutes.

The more important thing is how often Florida's best looks started with Condon. Condon's four assists went to Lloyd for a first-half 3, Haugh for a jumper before the break, Chinyelu for a layup and Haugh again for a second-half dunk. When Merrimack sent help toward the post, Condon moved it. When Merrimack stayed home, Condon got to the line. There was no good answer.

Haugh was steady again after a 21-point double-double at Florida State on Tuesday. Haugh went 5 of 9 from the field and 5 of 6 at the line for 15 points with six rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes. Chinyelu was nearly perfect, going 5 of 6 from the floor for 12 points with six rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes. Lloyd, making the first start of his career with Boogie Fland held out by a sore shoulder, gave Florida a reliable perimeter threat with 11 points on 3 of 6 from deep, plus two steals.

The Free Throw Line and the Glass

Two numbers explain why this was never close after halftime.

The first is 21 of 22. Florida made 21 free throws and missed one all night, a far cry from the 20 of 35 it shot at the line against Miami in the season opener. Merrimack attempted two free throws in 40 minutes, both by Johnson early in the second half. That is a 19-point gap at the line in a game decided by 29.

The second is 39-17. Florida doubled up Merrimack on the boards and then some, which is the same formula that buried Jacksonville by 31 last week. Haugh, Condon and Chinyelu each grabbed six, Aberdeen added four, and the Warriors were rarely in position to get a second shot.

Florida shot 51.9 percent from the field (27 of 52) and 8 of 23 from 3. The Gators handed out 19 assists against 12 turnovers, and they blocked four shots. Klavzar went 2 of 7 and Aberdeen scored three, but a team that lives at the line and owns the glass does not need to be perfect.

Merrimack's Shooters Earned Their Points

Credit to Merrimack for not packing it in. The Warriors made 10 of 25 from 3, and six of those came after halftime, when the game was already gone but the pride was not. Lesburt hit three 3s in a span of about three minutes midway through the second half, and Anglin followed with two more late. Lesburt finished with a team-high 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting, 4 of 7 from deep, in 38 minutes. Anglin added 14 on 4 of 8 from 3.

Johnson scored eight with a team-high four assists, Brogna had five points, five rebounds and three assists in 36 minutes, and Jacob Moore added four points and two blocks off the bench. Jeremiah Anderson had three steals in 20 minutes.

The problem for Merrimack was everything that happened inside the 3-point line. The Warriors shot 11 of 27 on 2-pointers, turned it over 13 times and could not keep Florida off the offensive end. Merrimack is now 0-3 all time against Florida after losing 77-57 in December 2023 and 80-45 last November.

What It Means for No. 1 Florida

This was the last tune-up before the schedule gets serious. Florida heads to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival and plays Notre Dame on Nov. 17, then faces either Houston or Rutgers on Nov. 18 and one of Auburn, Kansas, UNLV or West Virginia on Nov. 19. A possible date with No. 8 Houston, plus a Dec. 1 meeting with No. 2 Duke, means the next three weeks will say a lot more about this team than the first four games did.

The rotation questions are good ones. The Gators played 13 players, and the end of the bench had its moments. AJ Brown scored six points in 30 seconds, finishing an and-one layup and then hitting a 3, and Alex Kovatchev made both 3-point attempts in four minutes. Domen Petrovic chipped in three assists. The depth also kept Florida's top guys fresh: none of Condon, Haugh or Chinyelu played more than 24 minutes. Florida says Fland is expected to be available next time out.

Playing in a building that now carries the Tower Hill Arena name after a naming-rights deal announced Nov. 11, the Gators looked like a team that knows exactly who it is. The formula has not changed through four games: size, rebounding, free throws and a big man who passes like a guard. Merrimack's plan worked for 12 minutes. Then Florida reminded everyone why it is No. 1.

Full stats are in the box score (opens in a new tab) and on Florida's game center (opens in a new tab), and Florida Athletics has its own recap (opens in a new tab).

Sources: CBS Sports box score and play-by-play, Florida Athletics game center, schedule and recap, Merrimack Athletics schedule. More men's college basketball coverage on Undrafted.

Next up for Florida is Notre Dame on Nov. 17.

Photo: Florida Athletics.