Florida
TAMPA, Fla. (11/01/2026) — The Florida Gators opened a double-digit halftime lead and never surrendered it, turning back the Miami Hurricanes 77-67 on Sunday at Benchmark International Arena in front of 15,324 fans.
Thomas Haugh delivered a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double while Florida buried shots from deep at a 42 percent clip, more than enough to withstand a 24-point effort from Miami's Acaden Lewis.
How It Happened
Miami set the early tone. Somto Cyril opened the scoring with a layup at the 19:36 mark, and Lewis followed with a 26-foot three off a Cyril assist to put the Hurricanes up 5-2. The teams traded the lead five times in a back-and-forth opening stretch — Lewis answered a Haugh three with a 20-foot jumper at 16:46, and Nick Dorn's 28-footer at 14:05 gave Miami a 15-13 edge.
Then Florida's perimeter attack took over. Isaiah Brown's 22-foot three at 11:38 capped a 9-0 Gators run that flipped a 17-18 deficit into a 24-19 lead that Miami never fully erased. Boogie Fland extended the margin with a 25-footer at 10:17, and Haugh caught fire late in the half, draining back-to-back threes at 7:05 and 5:15 — both set up by Denzel Aberdeen — to stretch the lead to 38-25. Urban Klavzar's 27-foot bomb at 4:14 made it 41-27, and Cyril's dunk in the final minute only trimmed the halftime deficit to 46-36.
Miami made its push early in the second half. Shelton Henderson's pullup jumper at 19:10 started the charge, and when Malik Reneau drilled a 25-foot three off a Lewis assist at 17:25, the Hurricanes had clawed within 48-46. Cyril's tip-in dunk at 15:07 kept Miami within two at 53-51.
Florida's answer was emphatic. Domen Petrovic hit from 24 feet off an Alex Condon assist, Fland followed with a 24-footer at 13:21, and Klavzar's three at 10:16 — assisted by Fland — pushed the lead to 66-55. Miami never got closer than that the rest of the way, and Condon's free throws in the final minute sealed the 77-67 final.
Turning Point
The game swung on Florida's response to Miami's second-half surge. After Reneau's three cut the lead to 48-46 with 17:25 remaining, Haugh answered just 13 seconds later with a 23-foot three off a Fland feed. From there, the Gators ripped off a string of daggers from deep — Petrovic, Fland, and Klavzar all connected from beyond the arc over the next seven minutes — turning a two-point game into an 11-point cushion. Miami's comeback bid, built on effort plays inside, could not keep pace with Florida's barrage from the perimeter.
Star of the Game
Haugh was the engine on both ends. His 19 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists led the Gators, but his fingerprints were everywhere beyond the box score — he assisted on three first-half threes by teammates, including Fland's 25-footer and Brown's run-capping triple. His three threes came in the game's most important moments: two during Florida's first-half separation and the response that blunted Miami's second-half rally.
Fland added 12 points and four assists, Condon chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds, and Klavzar scored nine, all on timely shooting.
For Miami, Lewis was electric with 24 points, and Cyril posted 13 points and seven rebounds on a series of dunks and tip-ins. Henderson grabbed a team-high nine boards.
What It Means
The numbers told the story of Florida's balance: the Gators shot 43 percent from the field and 42 percent from three while dishing 17 assists against 12 turnovers. Miami managed just six assists as a team and shot 24 percent from deep, leaning heavily on Lewis's shot creation and second-chance points inside.
For the Florida Gators, it was the kind of early-November performance that validates the roster's perimeter depth — four different players hit multiple-possession-swinging threes, and the team won the rebounding battle 44-39 despite Miami's interior activity. For the Miami Hurricanes, Lewis's scoring punch and Cyril's work around the rim offer a foundation, but the shooting and ball movement will need to improve for Miami to finish off comebacks like the one it mounted Sunday.
