Condon's Career-High Leads Gators Past Jacksonville, 81-60

The Florida Gators dominate Jacksonville behind a career-high 23 points from Alex Condon and dominant middle effort in first half.

Nov 7, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators guard Will Richard (5) and forward Thomas Haugh (10) defend Jacksonville Dolphins guard Jakari Spence (8) during the first half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The No. 21 Florida Gators men's basketball team on Thursday moved to 2-0 on the 2025-2025 season with a dominating 81-60 win over Jacksonville University.

Alex Condon led the way scoring with a career-high 23 points on perfect field goal shooting while Florida's defense dominated Jacksonville from midway through the first half with a 25-point differential after trailing 12-10.

Walter Clayton Jr. added a UF career-high seven assists with nine points, and Alijah added 15 points in his UF home debut.

Gators Illustrated takes a quick look at how the game unfolded.

Early Slugfest Turns into Strong UF Lead in First Half

The Gators failed to extend early leads despite multiple opportunities, and the defense couldn't match the offensive output.

An early 10-5 lead for Florida was followed by seven-straight points from Jacksonville to take the lead. The Gators turned the ball over three times during that stretch, and Rueben Chinyelu missed two free throws before JU's Kendall Munson jumper gave the Dolphins a 12-10 lead four minutes into the game.

However, the Gators found balanced success from that point, outscoring the Dolphins 36-11. Florida held Jacksonville to 8-of-28 shooting and forced nine-straight missed shots from the 8:32 mark until the 5:20 mark in the first half.

Over that stretch, Florida shot 12-for-21 offensively including five-straight made buckets leading to 12 points and a 39-25 lead with under six minutes left in the first half. The Gators eventually led 46-32 at the half behind 13 points from Alijah Martin, four assists from Walter Clayton Jr. and nine total turnovers forced.

Alex Condon Dominates in Scoring, Walter Clayton Flashes in 2nd Half

Florida sophomore forward Alex Condon scored 15 of his team-high 23 points in the second half including seven of the Gators first 13 points in the period. He added two 3-pointers in the contest and drew seven fouls against Jacksonville.

Condon, however, struggled on the glass with only one rebound, which led him to describe his performance as a "weird game."

"It was a weird game for me because I didn't really rebound, but just be more confident in my threes," he said. "I've been shooting a little bit more in practice recently, so just getting more confident with that."

Meanwhile, Walter Clayton Jr., who finished with nine points and seven assists, brought the house down with back-to-back dunks, including one over a JU defender with 2:32 left in the game.

"Crazy, crazy," said guard Alijah Martin of Clayton Jr.'s dunk. "I think live, I didn't know what happened. Like, I knew what happened, but I just couldn't believe it."

WALTER.

PUT IT ON A POSTER. #GoGators | 📺SECN+ pic.twitter.com/exmBAVV8s7

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) November 8, 2024

Alijah Martin Shines in Home Debut

In his home debut, FAU transfer guard Alijah Martin helped lead the way offensively with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting. He made three 3-pointers in six attempts against Jacksonville.

"It was amazing. I've been a little down since the last game, and I wanted to make sure my first game here would be a display of what Alijah Martin brings to the table for the Gators," he said. "I think I did a good job of that. My teammates did a really god job just bring me up every practice."

Over the final 9:12 of the first half, Martin scored a 13 points, included two separate stretches were he scored five-straight and six-straight for the Gators. He added a fast-break dunk to end the half, which saw him end as the team-leader in first-half points.

Scoring slowed down for Martin in the second half, but he still managed two assists and two rebounds in 14 minutes of on-court time.

Defensively, Martin dominated with a six-steal effort, which led all players on Thursday.

OK AMART! #GoGators | 📺SECN+ pic.twitter.com/uO2WZGsrzl

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) November 8, 2024

Next Up

The Gators remain home on Monday, Nov. 11 with a matchup against Grambling State. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. with television coverage on SEC Network+.