GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The last game before Christmas break, what with players leaving town and all the built-in distractions, is always a little dangerous.
 
Take Sunday, for example. A home date against a decent Colgate team stood between Florida and its exit into the holidays. Lo and behold, the visitors showed up and shot a sizzling nearly 65% on 17 attempts from the 3-point line. 
 
The Gators, though, had the area inside the arc pretty much cordoned off, in holding the Raiders to just 31.6% in the 2-point space. UF was were pretty darn good on the other end of the floor, as well, with four players reaching double figures to go with some rugged work on the glass and minimal turnovers. 
 
The end result was an angst-free 90-60 victory and, thus, the happiest way to head home for the holidays. 
 
They avoided the so-called “trap” game, as Coach Todd Golden referenced it. 
 
“I thought we did a good job on the game plan, minus giving up the three-point line a little bit,” he said. “Really pleased with this type of effort going into break, and it allows us to enjoy these next couple days a little more.”
 
Senior guard Xaivian Lee led the way with 19 points, his fourth straight game as UF’s scoring leader (and fifth in the last six games). Juniors Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu held down the post. Condon finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks. Chinyelu added 16 points and 12 rebounds. Junior wing Thomas Haugh tossed in 17 points. 
 
UF (8-4), winner of three straight, shot 51.6% overall (though just 8 of 24 from deep), bombarded Colgate (6-6) on the glass, 49-22, including 20-6 on the offensive end, and won the points-in-the-paint column by a whopping 48-16. 
 
“Every day is a new day to get better,” Chinyelu said. 
 
And the Gators did not waste this opportunity. 

The Florida lead was a dozen at halftime after Colgate hit six of 10 of its 3-pointers. Not two minutes into the second half, Raiders guard Sam Wright made it 7-for-11 and the margin was down to nine. 
 
That’s when the Gators kicked in a spree of eight consecutive made field goals, including back-to-back 3-pointers from Haugh, that ignited a 25-8 run – including 12 straight points – and put the game out of reach. 
 
The lead was 90-54 when the Raiders called a timeout with 4:07 to go, prompting Golden to empty his bench in the quest for a second straight 100-point performance. The Gators finished in sloppy fashion, going 0-for-5 from the floor and with five turnovers, which was one more than the they had the first 36 minutes. 
 
In the big picture, it really didn’t matter. 
 
“Obviously, there’s stuff to improve on,” Haugh said. 
 
When the Gators next convene, for an evening practice the day after Christmas, they’ll be looking at one more so-called buy game (Dec. 28 against Dartmouth) before turning attention to the start of the Southeastern Conference campaign Jan. 3 at Missouri. 
 
“Multiple guys are getting more comfortable,” Golden said. “Looking forward to coming back, playing Dartmouth and then getting in SEC play and see how we look against some better competition.”
 
Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu. Find his story archives here.