UF sophomore point guard Boogie Fland (0) finishes in transition on FSU's Kobe MaGee during the second half on his way to a season-best 18 points in Monday night's come-from-behind win over the Seminoles.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida once again struggled from beyond the arc, continuing its rough start from the 3-point line. For the third straight game to open the 2025-26 season, the Gators misfired from deep against Florida State and found themselves trailing in the second half because of it.
While Florida hopes this cold streak won’t last, the team knows it can rely on its front-court depth, size, and length. That presence proved critical, as the Gators needed every rebound and every effort from their big men to escape a sold-out Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center with a 78-76 win in Tuesday night’s rivalry matchup.
UF sophomore point guard Boogie Fland, who tallied 14 of his season-high 18 points after halftime, sank two free throws with 15.8 seconds left. Forward Alex Condon added two more with 5.7 seconds remaining to push the lead to five, neutralizing FSU point guard Robert McCray V’s 3-pointer with half a second on the clock. The victory gave the Gators (2-1) their fifth straight win in the series.
Despite being favored by 18½ points, Florida complicated matters by hitting just six of 31 attempts from long range and committing 18 turnovers. Five of those miscues came in a late second-half stretch, allowing a nine-point cushion—built after battling back from an early deficit—to shrink to just one with a little over a minute left.
Ultimately, rebounding proved decisive. UF dominated the boards 58-36, including a 17-7 edge on the offensive glass. Small forward Thomas Haugh (20 points, 13 rebounds) and center Rueben Chinyelu (10 points, career-best 16 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles, while four other Gators grabbed at least five rebounds.
"Gosh, Florida's got some big boys," FSU’s first-year coach Luke Loucks remarked. "It's one thing to see it on film, it's another thing to see it in person."
Florida head coach Todd Golden, who sees his front line daily, emphasized how vital their performance was against the Seminoles, especially given the team’s shooting woes. The plus-22 rebounding margin served as a "buffer," Golden explained, that allowed them to pull through.
"We have to be a team that punishes our opponents on the glass," he said.
That rebounding edge was crucial, as the Gators shot just 19.4% from distance. Senior guard Xaivian Lee went 1-for-10, contributing to Florida’s season-long struggles from deep. Through three games, the team has gone a combined 19-for-90 (21.1%).
"Just stay the course," Fland said.
He knows the challenge firsthand. The Arkansas transfer and former McDonald's All American entered the game 0-for-5 from three in his first two outings as a Gator. After starting 0-for-3 in this contest, he finally found his rhythm when it mattered most.
Rueben Chinyelu (9) does his box-out thing Tuesday night on his way to a career-high 16 rebounds.
Both teams shot 37.5 percent in the opening half, but FSU, running its new wide-open, 3-point-heavy, full-court-pressure approach under Loucks, carried a 40-37 lead into halftime thanks to five made 3s (on 15 attempts) compared to UF’s two (on 14). The Seminoles extended their advantage to 52-47 with under 15 minutes left and were still ahead by four near the 13-minute mark when Fland connected on his first 3-pointer as a Gator (after nine tries), pushing Florida to 4-for-22 from deep at that point.
"We stayed composed," Haugh said. "We started to break their press."
Trailing 57-55, Lee (7 rebounds, 6 assists) set up Chinyelu for a lob dunk in transition, sparking an 11-0 run. That surge included Fland’s second 3-pointer, this one from the corner, bouncing twice before dropping through.
"It means you're living right, as they like to say," Fland joked. "I'm just happy it went in."
Florida appeared to be in control, leading 66-57 with under eight minutes remaining, but Florida State mounted a furious rally. McCray, who finished with a game-high 29 points, poured in 15 over the final six-plus minutes to keep the Seminoles within striking distance. The comeback was fueled by five UF turnovers in a span of just over four minutes, three of them from Condon, who had six overall. That stretch allowed FSU to close the gap to 71-70 after two McCray free throws with 1:24 left.
Urban Klavzar's corner 3-pointer gave the Gators some momentary breathing room – a 74-70 lead wth a minute remaining – but McCray drove to a layup and, after a Fland missed 3, got fouled and went to the line with a chance to tie the game with 17.8 seconds left. McCray hit the first, but missed the second, with Fland rebounding. He hit both free throws at the other end.
McCray missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds, with Condon grabbing the rebound at 5.7 and calmly sinking both free throws to push Florida ahead 78-73.
But McCray wasn’t finished. He drilled another 3 with just 0.4 seconds left, cutting the margin to two. The Seminoles then fouled Haugh on the inbound, but he missed both attempts at the line. That left one last chance for Florida State, as Chauncy Wiggins launched a desperation 80-foot shot that could have stolen the game, but it sailed wide to the right.
"I'm just really happy, really pleased," Golden said. "I think the expectation outside of our building, outside of the arena, [was] that this would be a game for us to control. But we knew coming in how difficult it was going to be. Luke has done a phenomenal job in a short period of time, getting that program playing a very unique style that's really hard to prepare for, and playing with lots of confidence."
Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu. Find his story archives here.
