FINAL: Florida 83, Merrimack 54

Friday, November 13

Gainesville, FL

7 PM

Florida Gators

Merrimack

Game Notes

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Friday, November 13, 2026 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

What Happened

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sophomore guard Alex Lloyd scored 11 points in his first career start and top-ranked Florida remained unbeaten by battering Merrimack 83-54 Friday night at Tower Hill Arena.

Lloyd, the 6-foot-3, 185-pound guard from Miami, replaced injured point guard Boogie Fland, who was held out the game with a sore shoulder. With mostly mop-up minutes during his first two seasons, Lloyd answered the call in his first high-leverage opportunity by making four or seven field goals, including 3-for-6 from the 3-point line, to go with two rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot over 28 minutes. He turned the ball over twice.

Fland is expected to be available when the Gators take the floor next (read on).

Senior forward Alex Condon had 16 points, six rebounds and four assists, while forward mate Thomas Haugh added 15 points and six boards. Center Rueben Chinyelu had 12 points and six rebounds. None of UF's "Big Three" played more than 24 minutes. The Gators shot 52% for the game, 35% at the 3-point line and smashed the Warriors on the glass 39-17.

Merrimack kept the game inside double digits for most of the first half, thanks to 55% shooting against a UF defense that began the day ranked sixth nationally in efficiency. The Warriors, however, were sloppy with the ball, especially late in the period when they turned it over five times over the final four minutes and the Gators capitalized with a 13-3 run to end the period and took a 43-26 halftime lead.

The run carried over into the second half, with UF building a 33-point lead while Merrimack missed its first 10 field-goal attempts and turned the ball over four times through the first nine minutes. The Gators began emptying their bench with about 11 minutes to go.

UF forward Alex Condon (21) with the first-half flush Friday night against Merrimack.

Turning Point

The 13-3 run to end the half was highlighted by an old-fashioned 3-point play from Urban Klavzar, a mid-court steal and slam-dunk by Lloyd and lob from Lloyd to Chinyelu for a dunk.

Staggering Statistic

UF went 21 of 22 at the free-throw line (95.5%). Combined with the the second half of Tuesday's win at Florida State, the Gators are 48 of its last 55 over those 60 minutes. That's 87.2%. Merrimack took just two free throws the entire game.

Up Next

Florida (4-0) will depart Sunday for Las Vegas, where the Gators will play three games in three days as part of an eight-team field in The Players Era Festival at Mandalay Bay. UF will open Tuesday afternoon against Notre Dame (4-0) and, result pending, face either No. 8 Houston or Rutgers on Tuesday. The Gators' opponent Thursday, results pending, will be either No. 14 Kansas, UNLV, West Virginia or Auburn.

Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu. Find his story archives here.