Opening Night in Florida: No. 1 Florida Beats No. 14 Miami 77-67 in Tampa, and UCF Survives FGCU 96-95 in Overtime in Orlando
College basketball opened in Florida with a top-15 fight and a classic: Thomas Haugh's 19 points and 10 rebounds carried No. 1 Florida past No. 14 Miami in Tampa, while in Orlando, Dior Johnson scored 41 as UCF needed overtime — and a missed 90-footer at the buzzer — to escape Florida Gulf Coast by one.
Florida's two ranked teams opened the season against each other, and the No. 1 team played like it. The Florida Gators defeated the No. 14 Miami Hurricanes 77-67 on Monday night at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, in the Orion180 Tipoff Classic, behind All-American Thomas Haugh's 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. Boogie Fland added 12 points, four assists and a game-high four steals, and the Gators won their fourth straight game against their in-state rivals.
Miami landed the first punches — the Hurricanes scored on their first five possessions — but a 9-0 Florida run built a 24-17 lead and a 46-36 halftime margin. Miami switched to a zone after the break and closed to 48-46, and got no closer. Villanova transfer Acaden Lewis scored a game-high 24 points for the Hurricanes, but Florida owned the margins that decide openers: a 21-7 advantage in points off turnovers, 11-for-26 shooting from three against Miami's 4-for-17, and a 44-37 rebounding edge. Haugh was named the game's MVP. Florida's home opener is Thursday against Jacksonville.
Ninety minutes east, the night's other opener nearly became its biggest upset. UCF beat Florida Gulf Coast 96-95 in overtime at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, in Dior Johnson's second stint with the Knights: Johnson scored a game-high 41 points, including four late in overtime. FGCU, the ASUN school from Estero, led 38-36 at halftime; UCF surged to a 61-49 second-half lead, gave it all back — the Eagles tied it at 71 with 6:04 left — and then watched Chase Konieczny lay one in as time expired to force overtime, tied at 82.
Overtime swung twice more. Lewis Walker (16 points) and Arturo Dean (15) made layups and Johnson canned a three-pointer for a 7-0 UCF run, Bryson Lucas tied it at 90 for FGCU with 1:59 left, and Johnson answered with a layup and two free throws for 96-92. Konieczny's three with five seconds left cut it to 96-95, and after a missed UCF free throw, Lucas's desperation 90-footer hit the side of the rim. Lucas finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Eagles and Justin Houser had 20 — and UCF's season begins with a win that felt like a warning.
