The No. 9 Florida Gators opened up their season with a 77-60 victory over UNC Wilmington on Friday night in Gainesville.

The Gators were led by senior Chandler Parsons who scored 16 points along with teammate Alex Tyus who added 13. Kenny Boynton and Erik Murphy contributed 10 points each in the contest.

Florida seemed to start out slow at the beginning, trailing by five at one point but started to pull away late in the first half by using their size and their depth advantage against the Seahawks. Florida really pounded the ball down low in the post to start the second half and forced several turnovers on defense with their full court press which helped them turn the lead into 24 just minutes later.

The Seahawks were led by Chad Tomko who scored 15 points. Trevor Deloach finished the contest with 14.

You know who really caught my eye tonight? Scottie Wilbekin. Wilbekin is a young guard from The Rock in Gainesville, FL who graduated early from high school. Coach Donovan seems to really like this kid and he is going to be something special in the future after Erving Walker is gone. Wilbekin finished the night up with three points, five assists and four steals.

The Gators are back in action on Tuesday as they host the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes at the O’connell Center in Gainesville, FL. Tipoff is held at 6:00pm.