Florida overcomes second-half fouls, including 2 technicals, to rally past Houston

Florida hung tough despite a host of issues in the first half of Monday night’s NCAA Tournament championship game against Houston. Despite being outrebounded, outmuscled and outshot, not to mention receiving 0 points from star guard Walter Clayton Jr., the Gators trailed by only 3 points at the break.

The result of all this? That 31-28 Houston edge ballooned to 42-30 in less than four minutes. The Cougars were on the verge of the bonus and appeared to be on course for the program’s first national title. The Gators appeared to be unraveling on their way to a blowout defeat.

Appearances, though, can be deceiving.

The Gators buckled down defensively, made a few shots and gradually whittled away at Houston’s lead until they managed to tie the score. Even still, Florida’s frustration continued. At the 7:13 mark, Rueben Chinyelu was called for a foul on J’Wan Roberts, then was T’d up for his reaction and sent to the bench.

At that point, the contest had morphed into a back-and-forth slugfest, and the fouls kept coming against both teams. But it was Florida’s defense that owned the final 90 seconds.

After Joseph Tugler’s free throw put Houston up 63-62, this is what the Cougars managed to produce in their final six possessions:

• Missed shot
• Missed shot
• Turnover
• Turnover
• Turnover
• Turnover

That gave the Gators the window they needed, and they rallied for a 65-63 victory, notching the school’s third national championship in the process.

“We did what we did all year: We stayed the course,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “We have the best backcourt in America. I think we have the best frontcourt in America. And like we’ve done all year, we made plays when we needed them the most. We guarded our butts off down the stretch, made every 50-50 winning play. We got the natty, baby! We got the natty – let’s go!”

In addition to the stifling defense down the stretch, there were several other factors in Florida’s comeback.

After being held scoreless in the first half, Clayton dropped in 11 in the second, including making a 3-pointer and all four of his attempted free throws. He also had seven assists and was named the tournament’s most outstanding player. Richard led the Gators in scoring (18) and rebounding (eight).

Florida also ended up outrebounding Houston 37-35, though the Gators surrendered 13 boards on the offensive glass. The Gators were also brilliant from the free-throw line (17-for-21), which proved crucial, as the referees called a whopping 29 fouls, 19 of which were assessed to Houston. Twenty-five of those fouls were called in the second half.

For Houston, it’s more championship game heartbreak. The 1983 team, led by future NBA stars Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, lost to Cinderella NC State on a last-second putback. The following year, Olajuwon and company lost a duel against Georgetown’s Patrick Ewing.