Gators throttle slumping Cardinal

PORTLAND, Ore. — Egor Koulechov had 26 points, including five three-pointers, and No. 7 Florida routed Stanford 108-87 on Thursday night in the Phil Knight Invitational.

Jalen Hudson added 17 points, including a personal-high four threes, for the Gators (4-0).

Reid Travis had 23 points for Stanford (3-3), which lost its second straight to an opponent ranked in the top 10. The Cardinal trailed by as many as 38.

“It was an extremely hot shooting night for them, but we could have done better defending the three-point line,” Travis said.

Koulechov, a graduate transfer, made all five of his three-point attempts and Florida hit 15 from long range overall.

“Honestly, I’ve been really comfortable with these guys from Day 1,” said Koulechov, who made all five of his three-point attempts. “The coaching staff and the players have done a really good job of helping me to adjust after coming from another school to make the transition easier for me. And how we play on the court, it’s really unselfish and it’s fun to be around that.”

Koulechov, who has played at Arizona State and Rice, scored 34 points in his debut this season for the Gators, then posted consecutive double-doubles before his big game against Stanford.

The Gators announced shortly before the opening tip that starting center Kevarrius Hayes had been suspended for the game for a violation of team rules. The school did not provide details. Hayes is averaging 6.3 points and 5.7 rebounds.

On Friday night, Stanford plays the loser of Thursday’s late game between Ohio State and Gonzaga. The Gators will face the winner of that OSU-Gonzaga game.

Stanford was coming off a 96-72 loss on Monday night to No. 9 North Carolina. The Cardinal have been shorthanded as Dorian Pickens and Marcus Sheffield nurse foot injuries, putting three freshmen in the starting lineup.

Stanford was no match for the Gators, who jumped to a 16-5 lead on Hudson’s three-pointer. It was not much of a game.

Chris Chiozza’s layup put the Gators up 58-33 with 1:45 left and they led 58-39 at the break.