The No. 1 Florida Gators bench production had been discouraging in the two preseason scrimmages against Baylor and Stetson. They were outscored heavily and outworked by their opponents. 

However, the Gators' bench unit has found its footing to start the season, providing an all-around effort to push Florida to a 2-0 start, with wins over the No. 14 Miami Hurricanes and Jacksonville Dolphins. 

Florida's bench has outscored its opponents in both games. In the season opener, it scored 22 points compared to the Hurricanes' 14. Then, against the Dolphins, it won the battle 25-21. 

Gators head coach Todd Golden has largely relied on Urban Klavzar, Domen Petrovic and Isaiah Brown to pack a punch off the bench in the first two games. Klavzar has been the Gators' most impactful bench weapon, averaging 10.5 points per game and shooting 45.5% from three in the two contests. 

The Slovenian international was productive in his most recent outing against Jacksonville on Thursday. Klavzar scored 12 points, including three 3-pointers, grabbed one rebound, and logged one assist in 21 minutes. 

Petrovic and Brown, both playing more than 10 minutes per game this season, have influenced the game on both ends of the court. The former is contributing 4.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game while playing solid defense. 

The latter has been efficient and selective on offense -- shooting 80% from the field, 50% from the perimeter and 100% from the free-throw line -- while also taking on important defensive assignments. He is adding 5.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. 

These three have earned their head coach's trust to play meaningful minutes off the bench in important contests. However, the ones who still need to impress their head coach got in on the action on Thursday, allowing Golden to see how they would fare in live competition. 

Florida used nine different players off the bench. In addition to Klavzar, Brown and Petrovic, Golden also deployed AJ Brown, Alex Kovatchev, Alex Lloyd, Viktor Mikic, Arturas Butajevas, and Jones Lay against Jacksonville. 

These names didn't impress on offense as much as they hoped to, but Golden saw positive signs from this group in the win over the Dolphins. 

"The guys that don’t generally play a lot, I thought they defended pretty well," Golden said. "They competed, they defended, they got on the glass. Offensively, we weren’t great in those minutes, but they were trying to execute and trying to play the right way."

Two of them also made their Gators debut against Jacksonville, with Brown and Jones playing their first minutes for the program on Thursday. 

Despite joining the program last year, Brown had never played in an official game for the Gators, but that changed on Thursday. In his five minutes on the court, Brown scored three points, grabbed two rebounds, and blocked one shot. 

For Brown, though, his value is known to his teammates even if he is not receiving minutes. 

"I think it's awesome. A.J. is a hell of a player," Gators center Alex Condon said. "I don't think he gets enough credit with how much he has helped us... So, A.J. is a really valuable player to this team, and I really liked his transition three."

Golden also touched on Jones and Brown's debuts, highlighting their effort and positive attitude behind the scenes. 

“I’m sure they’re both pretty elated to get on the floor, and to earn some of the reward of all the hard work and dedication that they’ve put into the program," he said. "They’re practicing hard every day. They’re getting beat up by our frontcourt, and they keep coming back with a great attitude and great energy, and I’m happy for both of them."

In-state rival Florida State is up next for the Gators. Florida travels to Tallahassee on Tuesday, Nov. 10, to take on Florida State. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.