CHARLOTTE, N.C. – With just over four minutes remaining and his team down by four, Florida coach Todd Golden huddled with his players on the floor of this NBA coliseum teeming with fans overwhelmingly decked in sky-blue and reveling in a ferocious comeback that some 30 real-time minutes earlier had the Gators stunned and on their heels. 
 
Now what? How would a team that had won all 10 of its games to open the season by double digits respond to a deficit, with their backs to the wall and under duress? 
 
Golden got his answer by looking in his players' eyes. 
 
"I saw no disappointment. Nobody pointing fingers," he said. "I saw guys that were poised and ready to attack the last four minutes, defend, rebound and take care of the ball."
 
Less than two minutes later, the score was tied and the Gators were on their way to scoring the game's final eight points and grabbing the final six rebounds. When the horn sounded, following four clutch free throws from sophomore forward Thomas Haugh and senior guard Will Richard over the final 7.9 seconds, seventh-ranked UF had handed basketball blue-blood North Carolina a 90-84 defeat in the Jumpman Classic to remain unbeaten this late in a season for only the second time in the program's 118-year history.  Richard scored 22 points, including a trio of 3s, and grabbed six rebounds, none bigger than the offensive board he converted to a go-ahead bucket with less than a minute to play. Fifth-year guard Alijah Martin, the transfer from Florida Atlantic, added 19 points (five of his team's final 10), none bigger than his game-tying 3 with 2:26 left, to go with six rebounds and four assists. 
 
When it was over, the Gators (11-0) spilled onto the floor en mass to celebrate their perfection on a night they blew a 17-point first-half lead, surrendered 24 points off 17 turnovers, allowed 63-percent shooting in the second half, had a tough offensive night from their two leading scorers and were far, far from perfect. 
 
So much for that run of 10 consecutive double-digit wins and fat 21.5-point average margin of victory to start the season. That's OK. Florida needed a test like this in a hostile atmosphere with everything seemingly stacked against it. To escape with No. 1 scorer Walter Clayton Jr. (19.1 per game coming in) held to just 12 points on 4-for-15 overall and 1-for-7 from deep – and still score 90 points – was further testament to the team's versatility and depth. Haugh provided nine points and six boards off the bench, while junior and fellow reserve Denzel Aberdeen went 5-for-6 from the floor on his was to 12 points. Sophomore forward Alex Condon had nine points and 10 rebounds. As a team, the Gators shot 46.2 percent and won the glass 46-36. 
 
"In this type of [tight-game] environment, you get the best out of everybody," said Martin, who also had a Clayton-like shooting day at five of 17 and 2-for-12 from 3 (the two combined to go 9-for-25 and 3-for-19, respectively), but made a really big long one when it mattered. "You see the type of leadership you have and it gives you confidence to go into a stretch of the season when you got to get out of the muck." 
 
Surely, Richard would second that thinking, right? 
 
"I'm not going to lie, I'd much rather win by a good amount," Richard counter-pointed. "But we know the rest of the season is not going to be easy. It definitely will prepare us for the [Southeastern Conference]. It's good face a little adversity." 
 
More than a little, actually. The Gators started red-hot, banging 17 of their first 30 shots and seven of 14 from distance to go up 44-27 with just over two minutes remaining in the half before the Tar Heels (6-5) scored seven of the period's final nine points to go into halftime down by a dozen at 46-34. 
 
Golden told his players at the break that Carolina, despite shooting just 29.7 percent and going 2-for-16 from the arc, was not going down without a fight. He was right.  The Tar Heels absolutely suffocated the Gators in the opening three minutes out of the locker room. They scored the period's first 11 points – making it an 18-2 run bridging the halves – to pull within 46-45, firing up the locals, before Haugh stopped the bleeding with a 3-pointer.
 
"I was not pleased with the way we performed coming out of halftime," Golden said. "That's really the first time all year where we've allowed a team to dictate the terms of the game, but credit them. I thought they were a lot more aggressive defensively and at trying to get downhill and driving the ball."
 
Were they ever. The Tar Heels went just three of 12 from the arc in the second half – five of 28 for the game (17.9 percent) – but hit 19 of their first 22 shots from the 2-point area in getting to the final, frantic two minutes when the outcome was decided. 
 
The last nearly eight minutes included six lead changes and four ties, with Carolina snapping one of the former after a Clayton 3-point play with a driving layup from guard RJ Davis, the 2024 first-team All American on his way to a game-high 29 points. Then came an alley-oop dunk in transition by Jalen Washington off a beautiful feed from Elliot Cadeau (11 points, 7 assists) that brought the house down, put the Heels in front, 81-77, with four minutes to play and forced Golden to call a timeout to settle things down.
 
As he learned in the huddle, his players already were settled. 
 
"We haven't had a game like this this year," said Golden, whose team never trailed by more than four, thanks to timely buckets when things seemed to be going Carolina's way. "To be able to push through in a game we trailed, to go back and forth in the second half, obviously was great for us."
 
Especially with how it turned out in the closing minutes. UF trailed 82-79 when Martin, 1-for-10 from distance to that point, squared up and buried a 3 to tie the game with 2:26 left. 
 
"Unwavering faith, positive belief and depending on the Lord," Martin said of his mentality after missing nine of his first 10 long ones. "Actually, just confidence in myself. I work my butt off. Big-time players make big-time plays."  He wasn't done. Neither were the Gators. Another UNC layup, this one by Cadeau (his team's fifth straight make), put the Heels back in front at 84-82. As it turned out, those were Carolina's last points. 
 
Two Martin free throws tied the score at 84. At UNC's end, Martin swatted the ball off the driving Cadeau's leg and out of bounds to force a turnover with 1:27 remaining. That's when UF worked the clock and Martin positioned for a back-down jumper that missed, with Richard underneath to grab the rebound and put the ball in for an 86-84 lead with 56 seconds to go. Timeout, Carolina.
 
Fifteen seconds into the Heels' next possession, Davis found himself wide open and squared up for a great look at a 3, but the ball caromed away for his eighth miss in 11 attempts and into Martin's hands with 47 seconds to go. The Gators ran a long possession and had to settle for a late-clock Martin 3 that was off, but this time it was Clayton crashing the glass and leaping to tip the ball in the air, with Haugh coming down for another huge offensive rebound. He was fouled, hit two pressure-packed free throws and put the Gators up by four with 7.9 seconds remaining. 
 
"I'd missed two earlier, so I was thinking about that a little bit," Haugh said. "But I stepped up and was good." 
 
What was it Martin said about "big-time" players and "big-time" plays? Aberdeen (mistakenly) fouled Cadeau bringing the ball into the UNC halfcourt with 6.2 seconds to go. Cadeau, though, missed the front end of a one-and-one, Richard rebounded, dropped his two free throws with 3.8 seconds to play and Florida had beaten North Carolina for only the third time, while handing the Heels their first loss in the three Jumpman events.
 
Maybe more significantly, the Gators had a reference point from which to draw on when that inevitable adversity Richard mentioned – has anyone checked the SEC lately? – strikes down the line. And it will. 
 
There will be more huddles like the tell-tale one Golden looked into Tuesday. Similar results, Golden believes.

This is a very good, very tough, very focused basketball team.
 
"Honestly, it was just as much about how I was feeling than they were feeling. I had to calm myself down a little bit 'cause I was a little wired and somewhat disappointed with some of the things we were doing," Golden said. "But our guys answered the bell."

Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu