What happened

CHARLOTTE, NC — Second-year backup forward at Florida Thomas Haugh hit two game-winning free throws with 7.9 seconds left and the seventh-seeded Gators survived a furious North Carolina comeback and a hostile, partisan crowd to claim a 90-84 victory over the Tar Heels and remain undefeated until the end of Tuesday night at the Spectrum Center second time in the program’s 118-year basketball history through 11 games.

Senior security guard Will Richard scored 22 points, including two crucial free throws, with 3.8 seconds left as the Gators, trailing by two points with two minutes left, scored the final eight points of the game, grabbed the final six rebounds of the game and A UNC offense shot 63 percent in the second half after shooting just 29.7 percent in the first half and was down 12 percent at halftime.

Fifth-year UF guard Aliyah Martin scored 19 points, grabbed four rebounds and had four assists, but had four of his team’s 17 turnovers, which the Tar Heels turned into 24 points. Martin missed nine of his first 10 shots from 3-point range, but hit a huge shot that tied the game at 82-2 with 2:26 left and helped start the comeback.

Tar Heel’s guard RJ Davis was sensational in the loss, scoring 29 points, a game-high, but missed a wide open go-ahead 3 41 seconds after the Gators secured an 86-84 lead on an offensive rebound and a putback from Richard .On Florida’s ensuing possession after Davis’ miss, the Gators ran out the clock and managed to block a late Martin jumper that found iron. However, Haugh (9 points, 6 rebounds) was there to grab the tape, was fouled and made the free throws for a four-point lead.

The point guard is at Carolina’s side Elliot Cadeau missed the front end of a one-on-one, Richard grabbed his sixth rebound and sank both free throws at the other end to finish things off.

Florida, which built a 17-point lead in the first half behind 53 percent shooting from the floor, finished the game shooting 46.2 percent, including 11 of 32 from deep (34.4 percent) and 19 of 27 from free throws line, but 8 against 8 within the last four minutes. UNC, which missed its first 10 3-point shots, finished at 45.8 after going 19 of 23 from 2-point range (82-6 percent) after halftime.

After falling behind by 17, Carolina scored seven of the last nine points of the first half to make it 46-34, then started the second half with an 11-0 win to close to within one point before Haugh’s cold snap the Gators broke through a 3-pointer. UF managed to push the lead back to seven with a second 3-pointer from the sophomore forward Alex Condon (9 points, 10 rebounds), but the Tar Heels kept coming and finally took the lead for the first time since the first three minutes on an old-fashioned 3-point play by Davis with 7:56 left.

From there, there were four ties and six lead changes, the last coming after UNC saw a four-point lead (81-77) disappear in four minutes. The Tar Heels were leading 82-79 when Martin drained his three-pointer. Cadeau responded with a layup at the 2:12 mark, but that was the last time his team scored. Two free throws from Martin tied the game at 1:49, then with 1:27 left, Martin forced Cadeau into a turnover that set up Richard’s offensive rebound at the Florida end.

What it means

After winning their first 10 games by double digits, the Gators needed a test like this. They passed and joined the 2005-06 NCAA championship team as the only ones in UF history to win their first 11 games. UF secured its second Quadrant 1 win of the season – actually its second in four days – securing its third all-time victory over the Tar Heels (and first since 2000). After completing the streak of five straight games (and wins) against quality opponents, the Gators are in position to complete their non-league schedule without a loss and assuming business is taken care of at home in the next two games , I have a very good chance of bringing a perfect record into Southeastern Conference play. Read on.

In the spotlight

The 6-foot-3 Haugh hit a plus-22 in just 20 minutes against the blue-blooded Tar Heels in what amounted to a road game. He’s a great player with a great future, but he’s outstanding in the present.

Amazing statistics

How about a 7-0 scoring advantage and a 6-0 rebounding advantage to close out a game the Gators lost? That’s clutch, especially in this environment.

Next

Florida (11-0) is back in action at home on Saturday with a noon tipoff against North Florida (7-5), which lost 95-81 at UNC-Asheville on Tuesday. Yes, the Ospreys may have five losses, but their seven wins include road games at South Carolina and Georgia Tech that should catch the Gators’ attention.

Email senior author Chris Harry at [email protected]