Florida Steamrolls Quinnipiac in Non-Conference Finale, 97-72

Gators use hot first-half shooting performance to roll through visiting Bobcats to close non-conference play with a 97-72 win.

Florida continues to roll heading into league play.

Nine made three-pointers and a 52% field goal percentage in the first half guided the Gators en route to a 97-72 victory over the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Saturday afternoon in Gainesville.

Florida progresses to 10-3 on the season, and closes the month of December at 6-0.

The second lopsided victory in as many games for the Gators was led by the excellence of backcourt pieces Will Richard and Zyon Pullin in the first half, combining for seven of the team's nine made three-pointers.

Their efforts allowed Florida to keep Quinnipiac at arm's length despite the Bobcats' pesky rebounding prowess — outdoing the nation's second-ranked team on the boards throughout the first 20 minutes. Quinnipiac notched 23 rebounds to Florida's 22, including 11 offensive rebounds, which they turned back in for 11 second-chance points.

Regression to the mean came at the end of the first half and continued in the second, however, as UF out-rebounded Tom Pecora's squad 49-43 on the day.

It resulted in a late-half drought for the visiting MAAC opponent, opening the door for Florida to pull away. Richard and Pullin added to their already impressive first-half marks to finish with a combined 31 points to help blow open UF's lead to 23, 52-29.

An impressive surge with under four minutes remaining before the half notably put the game out of reach.

The Gators cruised in the second half to open the 23-point lead at the break to as much as 33 over the Bobcats. Florida continued to push the tempo despite the sizable lead, resulting in several emphatic slams in transition to put multiple exclamation points on the important win to close the first two months of the 2023-24 campaign.

Riley Kugel — returning from a bruised foot injury that held him out of action against Grambling State — punched home an alley-oop dunk with just under 10 minutes remaining to highlight the several forcible plays at the basket for Florida during the period.

that block.
THAT SLAM. #GoGators | 📺ESPNU pic.twitter.com/84NY9Y666j

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) December 30, 2023

Richard finished as the team's leading scorer with 22 points on 5-9 from beyond the arc, three rebounds and two steals. 

Pullin supplemented his effort. The veteran guard posted 16 points on 66.7% shooting and a team-leading three assists to turn in another uber-efficient outing as the Gators' leading ball handler.

Graduate transfer forward Tyrese Samuel also continued to relieve the backcourt duo down low, accounting for 11 points and nine rebounds. His final bucket — an alley-oop slam in transition — allowed him to join the 1,000-point club in his collegiate career.

The trio's play catalyzed Florida's offensive production en route to 97 points on 51.5% from the field and 38.5% from three.

All 10 Gators' players who saw more than 10 minutes on the afternoon produced at least four points.

Florida will commence SEC action on Jan. 6 as it plays host to No. 8 Kentucky — aiming to produce a statement win in the front of a daunting stretch of league games.

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