Monday, November 2, 2026 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
What Happened
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Senior forward Thomas Haugh scored 17 points and top-ranked Florida smothered 14th-ranked Miami with defense in the second half on the way to a grimy 77-67 season-opening victory Monday night at Benchmark International Arena.Haugh, who hit six of his 13 shots and four of eight 3-point attempts, also grabbed 10 rebounds, dished four assists and had a pair of steals. Senior center Rueben Chinyelu grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked three shots before fouling out late. The Florida bench, which struggled to score in the team's two exhibitions, had 22 points.
Miami was led by point guard Acaden Lewis with 24 points. The Hurricanes, though, made just three field goals over the game's final 12 minutes.
The Gators shot 43% for the game, yet went 11 of 26 from the arc (42.3). The latter went a long way toward countering an atrocious 55% on 35 free-throw attempts, with the misses allowing the Hurricanes to stay in the game. The UF defense, though held UM to just 35% overall and 4-for-17 from long distance.
Turning Point
UM started the second half much better than UF, cutting a 12-point deficit to just two, at 53-51, with 15 minutes remaining. The Gators, though, used a quick run of seven straight points, including back-to-back 3s from backup rookie forward Domen Petrovic (6 points, 3 rebounds in 11 minutes) and junior point guard Boogie Fland, to take the margin back out to nine. It got no closer than six after that (and only once).Staggering Statistic
The Gators would have made this one a lot easier on themselves if they were just poor at the free-throw line, instead of awful: 20 of 35, including four missed front ends of the seven-foul bonus. The Canes, despite their field-goal shooting woes, stuck around by going a solid 21 of 30 at the line.Up Next
Florida (1-0) is back home Thursday night to face Jacksonville (1-0). The Dolphins crushed Trinity College of Jacksonville, a member of the National Collegiate Christian College Association, 105-61 in their opener Monday.Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu. Find his story archives here.
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