DURHAM, N.C. – If it is any consolation (and it likely won't be much), the Florida Gators showed just how good they could be Tuesday night in a sensational second-half performance that put them in position to steal a win in one of the most hallowed and difficult venues in all of college basketball.
They just needed to be sensational for one more defensive possession.
Instead, it was Duke sophomore guard Isaiah Evans, his shooting hand held virtually in check the entire night, who squared up and nailed an open, go-ahead 3-point shot with 21 seconds remaining that proved the difference in a pulsating 67-66 victory for the fourth-ranked Blue Devils and turned back an inspired rally by the No. 15 Gators in their ACC/SEC Challenge showdown at sold-out and frenzied Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Evans' decisive shot came out of timeout after UF guard Boogie Fland hit a 3 with 35 seconds remaining to give the Gators (5-3) their first lead since the 12-minute mark of the first period. Duke (8-0) built a 15-point first-half advantage, but Florida used a combination of poise, effort, shot-making and – above all – defense to not only get back in the game, but put itself on the cusp of stealing one in front of the vaunted "Cameron Crazies."
Then came Evans' shot, followed by a turnover with a chance to retake the lead.
"Obviously, a disappointing result," Florida coach Todd Golden said afterward. "I thought we gave our best effort of the year. On the road, here at Duke, incredibly difficult environment to play in. I thought we played really well the first 10 minutes of the game. I thought we were not nearly good enough the last 10 minutes of the first half, and that ended up costing us. [But] we played an elite second half."
Blue Devils freshman forward Cameron Boozer, who will be in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, played an elite complete game on his way to scoring 29 points, grabbing six rebounds and drawing seven fouls. Boozer broke the game's first tie of the second half with a 3-pointer at 2:07 to go that came after his team missed its first nine from distance of the period.
The Blue Devils made the next one, too, to wipe out a 66-64 lead the Gators enjoyed for all of 14 seconds.
Junior forward Thomas Haugh throws down two of his team-high 24 points.
Junior forward Thomas Haugh led the Gators with 24 points and six rebounds, with Fland next at 16 points. Junior forward Alex Condon, back after missing a game in concussion protocol, posted his fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Junior center Rueben Chinyelu had a game-high 14 boards and was a catalyst in the low post for a defense that held Duke to 38% after halftime, when the Gators outscored the Blue Devils by 42-31 and out-rebounded them by 11 for the game.
"I'm proud of our fight," Haugh said. "We need to keep building off this."
It would have been better to build off it in victory, but the Gators dug themselves a hole by shooting just 29% in the first half, including 3-for-16 from the 3-point line (18.8%), and allowing the Blue Devils (Boozer, especially) to shoot at a 52% clip and hit five 3s.
"I told our guys, to win in a place like Cameron, you've got to outplay Duke by 10 points because you're not going to get any 50-50 calls. Things aren't going to go your way," Golden said. "We certainly had a little bit of that tonight."
Mostly in that first half. Duke led by a dozen at the break and scored the first bucket of the second half, but UF looked like a different team out of the locker room. The Gators went on a 9-0 run that prompted a Blue Devils timeout, as the margin was cut to just five. The Florida run reached 14-2, with the visitors making it a two-point game and serving notice they weren't going anywhere.
Boozer scored six straight to push Duke back out by nine, 54-45, but consecutive 3s by Haugh and Urban Klavzar made things interesting again. The Blue Devils led 59-53 when the Gators, who'd missed five straight shots, went on a run of six straight to tie the game on a Fland pull-up jumper at the 2:34 mark.
Boozer's shot that knocked the lid off the Duke 3-point tries came 27 seconds later, but Fland converted a driving layup to pull the Gators back within one. Again, it was Boozer, hard-driving to a bank shot to go back up by three. Two free throws from Condon made it a one-point game, then came a defensive stop that led to Fland's 3-pointer for the lead.
Gators guard Boogie Fland(0) got hot in the second half and keyed the comeback that put his team in position to win.
Out of a Duke timeout, Evans went to set a ball-screen for Boozer at the top of the key, but rolled clean to his left, as Klavzar got caught in the traffic. Evans took the pass and squared up a wide-open shot that blew the roof off the joint.
The Gators' ensuing possession ended in a Fland turnover, his game-high fourth, forced by excellent defense from Caleb Foster with the clock inside five seconds, followed by a foul. Foster missed the front end of a one-and-one with 1.5 seconds to go, with UF calling a timeout for one desperation play. Haugh's attempt at a baseline heave upcourt -- looking for a shot, a foul, something -- was tipped, as the clock ran out.
"That was a big time game," Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. "Hats off to Florida. They've got winning DNA. They are tough. They made a great run."
It got the Gators thatclose to pulling off a win for the ages at college basketball's Mecca. Instead, they had to settle for going home with a clearer understanding of what it will take to be the best version of themselves. It will take the grit, determination and defense they rolled out at Cameron. It gave the team a chance in a game (and place) the Gators appeared out of.
"Our level of competitiveness is not a concern of mine. We just have not been playing well," Golden said. "We're competing hard. That is not something that's ever crossed my mind with our team. It's execution that's been our issue. We have not been anywhere near as good enough that way. I thought tonight we were good enough."
Florida Men's Basketball | Head Coach Todd Golden Postgame Press Conference | DukeFlorida Men's Basketball | Head Coach Todd Golden Postgame Press Conference | Duke
Wednesday, December 03
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