Egor Koulechov certainly made a good impression in his first game with Florida on Monday night.

Koulechov scored 23 of his game-high 34 points in the first half as No. 8 Florida opened its season with a 116-74 victory over Gardner-Webb in Gainesville, Fla.

The guard made 6 of 9 3-pointers and eight baskets overall in that first half, which saw the Gators jump out to a 55-32 lead at the break. That earned a standing ovation from the home crowd.

"He was really good," said Florida coach Mike White in an interview with the team's radio network. "Pretty good player. We've been pretty excited since we got him. He's a terrific shooter."

The graduate transfer, who finished with six 3-pointers, transferred from Rice, where he averaged 18.2 points last season. Florida is hoping the Russian-born guard will give it more offensive punch, and he did Monday.

Koulechov made 11 of 17 shots from the field and finished with five assists and five rebounds in just 26 minutes.

"It was a lot of fun," Koulechov said on the team's radio broadcast. "You make some; you miss some. You've got to keep shooting. My teammates did a great job of finding me."

The Florida offense had little trouble moving the ball after the opening minutes. Overall, the Gators made 40 baskets and finished with 26 assists -- the most a Florida team has had in five years.

In addition, the Gators made 20 of 29 from the field in a 61-point second half. That's a shooting percentage of 69 percent in those final 20 minutes, and it let Florida blow the game wide open.

Junior guard Jalen Hudson also helped the Gators on offense with 16 points. Freshman guard Deaundrae Ballard added 14.

Overall, 11 Florida players scored but the Gators know that this was just the first step in what they hope is a good journey, a point senior guard Chris Chiozza (five points) made in his post-game talk with the radio network.

"We've still got a long way to go," he said. "We've got a tough schedule coming ahead."

This was the highest number of points a Florida team scored since the Gators posted 125 versus Florida A&M in December 2000.

Sophomore forward D.J. Laster led Gardner-Webb (0-2) with 19 points.

The Runnin' Bulldogs had three players in double figures as freshman guard Jaheam Cornwall added 18 and junior guard David Efianayi scored 13.

The two teams stayed close early before Florida scored 11 consecutive points, with help from three 3-pointers, including one from Koulechov. That gave the Gators a 24-13 lead, and Florida then pulled away.

NOTES: Florida senior G Chris Chiozza sprained his shoulder on Nov. 2 but was able to play, even though there had been some question about his availability. He finished with five points plus six rebounds and six assists. ... The Gators set a record for points scored on opening night. ... Gardner-Webb played its first two games of this season in Florida, falling to Miami (77-45) on Friday. ... This was the first time the Runnin' Bulldogs have played the Gators.