What Happened

Florida guard Will Richard equaled his career high of five 3-pointers on his way to 17 points and the Gators blew out Grambling State 96-57 for a fifth consecutive victory in Friday's holiday-season matinee at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. UF put five players in double-figure scoring, thanks to 62-percent shooting overall and 11 of 21 from the 3-point line (52.4 percent). Grad-transfer point guard Zyon Pullin, who got his third start of the season with Riley Kugel sidelined with a foot bruise, stuffed his statistical line with 14 points (on 4-for-5 shooting), five rebounds and six assists without a turnover over 25 minutes. Forward Tyrese Samuel posted his fifth (and second straight) double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. A pair of young backups, freshman forward Thomas Haugh, and sophomore guard Denzel Aberdeen, added a career-high 13 and 11 points, respectively. Florida got out of the gate for a 21-8 lead, but Grambling hit five consecutive shots to go on a 9-0 that made it 21-17. The Gators shook off the skid and raced to a 44-27 halftime lead and wasted little time after intermisson taking the margin out, with Richard nailing three 3s inside the first five minutes to open a 23-point lead. It swelled to as many as 43 in the second half, as the Gators emptied their bench, with all four walk-ons taking the floor with a minute to go. Florida had seven players score at least eight points and four with at least five rebounds.

What it Means

The kind of a blowout expected (both internally and externally) against a severely over-matched opponent. That's the right way to exit the semester and head into the holidays. The five-game winning is the longest of Coach Todd Golden's two seasons by two games. The Gators had two three-game streaks last season.

In the Spotlight

The offense and balanced scoring attack.

Staggering Statistic

The Gators posted a season-high 27 assists to just 10 turnovers. The bench players had 16 points and two turnovers. Those are the kind of selfless numbers Golden and his staff talk about all the time.

Up Next

Florida (9-3) breaks for Christmas, with the players due back Tuesday night and just one game remaining until the start of the Southeastern Conference season. The Gators will play Quinnipiac (9-3), out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference on Dec. 30 at the O'Dome. A week later, UF will open the SEC slate against Kentucky at home.