Alex Fudge led three Florida players in double figures with 16 points as the Gators rolled to an 81-45 win over Stony Brook on Monday in the season opener for both teams at Gainesville, Fla.

Will Richard added 14 points for the Gators, while preseason All-Southeastern Conference forward Colin Castleton had a solid all-around floor game with 13 points, five rebounds and four blocks.

It was a successful debut for Florida coach Todd Golden, who at 37 is the youngest coach in the SEC. Golden was hired in the offseason from San Francisco, where he went 57-36 in three seasons.

Richard, a transfer from Belmont, and Fudge, a transfer from LSU, are two of new faces on the Florida roster brought in by Golden. The Gators were the more physical team, outrebounding the Seawolves 44-28 and outscoring them 32-14 on points in the paint.

Frankie Policelli led Stony Brook with 11 points. Kenan Sarvan had eight points, and Tyler Stephenson-Moore contributed seven points and nine rebounds.

Florida scored the game’s first 12 points and held Stony Brook to just one field goal through the first 8:50 of the game to jump to an early 22-3 lead. Fudge scored seven straight points during a 10-0 run, capping the surge with a 3-pointer to give the Gators the early 19-point edge.

The Gators maintained the double-digit advantage for the rest of the half, taking a 38-22 lead into halftime. Florida held Stony Brook to 27.6 percent shooting before the break while scoring 10 points off eight Seawolves turnovers.

Florida hit 48.6 percent of its field-goal attempts in the first 20 minutes though it hit only 3 of 15 from 3-point range.

On the night overall, the Gators outshot the Seawolves 47.5 percent to 30.8 percent. Florida sank 10 of 25 3-point tries while Stony Brook was 6 of 28.

–Field Level Media