College basketball: Koulechov has smashing debut for the Gators

Egor Koulechov scored 34 points, hitting six three-point shots in his Florida debut, to lead the eighth-ranked Gators to a 116-74 victory against visiting Gardner-Webb in the team’s season opener Monday night.

Koulechov, a graduate transfer from Rice, broke the school record for most points in a debut. Tom Baxley held the previous mark, scoring 32 points against Rick Barry and Miami in 1962. Koulechov added five rebounds and five assists. The newcomer nicknamed “Three-gor” made 11 of 17 shots.

“I’m happy this day kind of came,” Koulechov said. “I’ve been waiting for this since I decided to come here. It’s a great environment, a great program. It’s a lot of fun, especially when you win.”

DJ Laster led the Runnin’ Bulldogs (0-2) with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

at No. 6 Wichita State 81, College of Charleston 63: Senior center Shaquille Morris had 18 points and 10 rebounds in just 22 minutes and the Shockers (2-0) dominated inside.

at No. 12 Cincinnati 102, Western Carolina 51: Sophomore Jarron Cumberland scored 20 points for the second time in his career, and the Bearcats (2-0) forced 22 turnovers in winning their 28th straight home game.

at No. 13 Notre Dame 88, Mt. St. Mary’s 62: Bonzie Colson had 27 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks and the Fighting Irish (2-0) won their home opener.

No. 14 Minnesota 86, at Providence 74: Jordan Murphy had 23 points and 14 rebounds and the Gophers (2-0) held off the Friars (1-1). Murphy scored 15 points in the second half, leading Minnesota back from a three-point halftime deficit. Nate Mason added 17 points and Amir Coffey finished with 15. Kyron Cartwright and Nate Watson each had 12 points for Providence.

at No. 15 Xavier 101, Rider 75: Trevon Bluiett had 26 points and nine rebounds to lead the Musketeers (2-0) in the first-ever meeting with the Broncs (1-1). Tyrique Jones scored 19 points, J.P. Macura had 14, Paul Scruggs added 13 and Kaiser Gates 12 for Xavier, which won its 32nd straight nonconference game at home. Jordan Allen and Stevie Jordan had 14 points each for Rider, which trailed by 19 in the first half before pulling within five early in the second half.

at No. 20 Northwestern 75, St. Peter’s 66: Bryant McIntosh scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half for the Wildcats (2-0), who had their second straight lackluster win. Dererk Pardon scored 15 points, Gavin Skelly finished with 14 and Scottie Lindsey had 12 points and six assists for Northwestern. Nick Griffin scored 19 points for the Peacocks (0-2).

at No. 21 St. Mary’s 92, New Mexico State 74: Emmett Naar scored 22 points, Jock Landale added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and the Gaels (2-0) pulled away after trailing by eight points in the first half. Calvin Hermanson added 16 for St. Mary’s. Zach Lofton had 18 points for the Aggies (1-1).

at No. 25 Baylor 70, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 46: Manu Lecomte scored 23 points and the Bears (2-0) had no trouble with the Islanders (1-1). Baylor was down 20-19 late in the first half before scoring eight straight points to go ahead to stay. Joseph Kilgore had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the visitors.

MEN

at Fresno State 89, Cal State Northridge 73: Deshon Taylor and Jahmel Taylor each scored 18 points and the Bulldogs (2-0) beat the Matadors (1-1). Terrell Gomez scored 18 points and Lyrik Shreiner had 16 for Northridge. Deshon Taylor made six of 12 shots and Jahmel Taylor made six of eight.

WOMEN

USC 64, at UC Riverside 46: The Trojans improved to 2-0, getting 21 points from Aliyah Mazyck and 18 from Kristen Simon to defeat the Highlanders (0-2). Michelle Curry (19 points) was the only Riverside player to reach double figures. USC led 21-11 after one period and 38-22 at halftime.

MEN — Tuesday

Cal Lutheran at Pepperdine — 7 p.m.

Chapman at UC Irvine — 7 p.m.

San Francisco State at Long Beach State — 7 p.m.