All-American Thomas Haugh produced 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block as the top-ranked Florida Gators defeated No. 14 Miami, 77-67, on a neutral court Monday night in Tampa, Fla.
Boogie Fland added 12 points, four assists and a game-high four steals for Florida.
Villanova transfer Acaden Lewis scored a game-high 24 points to lead Miami in the season opener for both teams.
Florida has won four straight games against its in-state rival Miami, and this contest got heated several times, including a technical foul on each coaching staff and three flagrant fouls, all of them involving Miami center Somto Cyril.
The first flagrant foul was called against Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu, who elbowed Cyril in the back of the head.
Later in the second half, Florida’s Isaiah Brown was called for a flagrant foul for a hand to Cyril’s face.
Cyril, who finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, was also called for a flagrant foul for shoving Urban Klavzar to the floor.
Miami was impressive early, scoring on its first five possessions for an 11-8 advantage. But the Gators responded with a 9-0 run to take a 24-17 lead midway through the first half.
By intermission, Florida led 46-36. Haugh led all first-half scorers with 13 points, including a pair of 3-pointers that hit both rim and backboard before going through the net. Lewis led Miami with 12 first-half points, but the Gators outscored the Hurricanes 13-4 in points off of turnovers.
In addition, Florida shot the ball well in the first half — 53.6 percent overall and 7-for-13 on 3-pointers. Miami shot 41.4 percent from the floor and 3-for-10 from deep.
In the second half, Miami went to a zone defense and closed its deficit to 48-46. But the Hurricanes never got any closer, and Florida rolled to victory.
For the game, the Gators had a 21-7 advantage on points off turnovers. Florida also had a major edge on 3-pointers made –11-for-26 for the Gators and 4-for-17 for Miami.
The Hurricanes struggled on offense as two of their biggest stars were held to single digits: Shelton Henderson scored seven points, and Malik Reneau added five.