Duke guard Isaiah Evans lets fly what turned out to be the game-winner Tuesday night, as UF guard Urban Klavzar gives late chase. [Photo by USA Today]
DURHAM, N.C. – If there was any consolation (though likely not much), the Florida Gators demonstrated just how strong they can be Tuesday night with a remarkable second-half performance that nearly positioned them to steal a victory in one of college basketball’s most storied and challenging venues.
They simply needed one more defensive stop.
Instead, it was Duke sophomore guard Isaiah Evans, who had been held in check most of the evening, stepping up to drain an open, go-ahead 3-pointer with 21 seconds left. That shot proved decisive in a thrilling 67-66 win for the fourth-ranked Blue Devils, halting a spirited rally by the No. 15 Gators in their ACC/SEC Challenge clash before a sold-out, frenzied crowd at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Evans’ pivotal basket followed a timeout after UF guard Boogie Fland connected on a 3-pointer with 35 seconds remaining, giving the Gators (5-3) their first lead since the 12-minute mark of the opening half. Though Duke (8-0) built a 15-point advantage in the first half, Florida responded with poise, effort, timely shooting, and—most importantly—defense to claw back and nearly snatch the win in front of the famed “Cameron Crazies.”
Then came Evans’ shot, followed by a turnover that ended Florida’s chance to reclaim 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, projected as a contender for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, delivered a complete performance with 29 points, six rebounds, and seven drawn fouls. Boozer broke the second-half’s first tie with a 3-pointer at the 2:07 mark, coming after his team had missed its first nine attempts from deep in the period.
The Blue Devils followed that up with another make from beyond the arc, erasing the brief 66-64 lead the Gators held for just 14 seconds.
Junior forward Thomas Haugh throws down two of his team-high 24 points.
Junior forward Thomas Haugh paced the Gators with 24 points and six rebounds, followed by Fland with 16 points. Junior forward Alex Condon, returning after missing a game due to concussion protocol, recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Junior center Rueben Chinyelu pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds and anchored the low post for a defense that limited Duke to 38% shooting after halftime, when the Gators outscored the Blue Devils 42-31 and won the rebounding battle by 11 overall.
"I'm proud of our fight," Haugh said. "We need to keep building off this."
Still, it would have been far better to build off a win. The Gators dug themselves into an early hole by shooting just 29% in the first half, including 3-for-16 from beyond the arc (18.8%), while allowing the Blue Devils—Boozer in particular—to shoot 52% and knock down five 3-pointers.
"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."
Most of it came in the opening half. Duke led by 12 at the break and scored the first basket of the second half, but UF looked revitalized coming out of the locker room. The Gators responded with a 9-0 run that forced a Blue Devils timeout, trimming the margin to five. The surge extended to 14-2, pulling the visitors within two and signaling they weren’t backing down.
Boozer answered with six straight points to stretch the lead back to nine, 54-45, but consecutive 3-pointers from Haugh and Urban Klavzar tightened things again. With Duke ahead 59-53, the Gators, after missing five straight shots, strung together six consecutive points to tie the game on a Fland pull-up jumper at the 2:34 mark.
Moments later, Boozer broke through with a 3-pointer, ending Duke’s drought from deep. Fland countered with a driving layup to cut the deficit to one, but Boozer struck again, powering to the rim for a bank shot that restored a three-point cushion. Two free throws from Condon brought it back to a one-point game, and a defensive stop set up Fland’s 3-pointer that gave the Gators 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 moved to set a ball screen for Boozer at the top of the key but slipped cleanly to his left as Klavzar was caught in the traffic. Evans received the pass and squared up for a wide-open shot that electrified the arena.
The Gators’ next possession ended with a Fland turnover—his game-high fourth—created by strong defense from Caleb Foster with the clock under five seconds, followed by a foul. Foster missed the front end of a one-and-one with 1.5 seconds remaining, allowing UF to call a timeout for one last desperation play. Haugh’s baseline heave upcourt—hoping for a shot, a foul, anything—was tipped as time expired.
"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."
The Gators came that close to pulling off a historic win at college basketball’s Mecca. Instead, they left with a clearer picture of what it will take to reach their best form. It will require the same grit, determination, and defensive intensity they displayed at Cameron, which gave them a chance in a game (and venue) where they once seemed outmatched.
"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."
Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu. Find his story archives here.
