No. 8 Florida upset at home by Miami
GAINESVILLE - Miami junior guard Angel Rodriguez was cold for about 33 minutes Monday night against Florida. But when he got hot, there was nearly no stopping him.
Rodriguez scored 22 of his 24 in the second half to help lead the Hurricanes to a 69-67 victory over the Gators in front of 11,156 at the O'Connell Center.
'It's a significant win for us,' Miami coach Jim Larranaga said.
The loss ended Florida's home winning streak at 33 games.
'I guess streaks are meant to be broken,' Florida coach Billy Donovan said. 'It was a great run here at home.'
Miami (2-0) rallied from a 15-point deficit to earn the win. Trailing 67-65 after Florida guard Eli Carter hit a jumper with 1:01 remaining, Rodriguez responded with a deep 3-pointer - with guard Kasey Hill guarding closely - to give Miami a 68-67 lead with 16 seconds left.
'Our team did a great job putting ourselves in that position to give us a chance to win the game,' said Rodriguez, who was 5-of-7 from 3-point range. 'Coach called a timeout (with 32.9 seconds left) and I told him to give me the ball please, before he even talked to the coaches, and they drew up a play.'
Florida (1-1) led 33-21 at halftime and took a 41-26 lead with 17:05 left in the game. But the Hurricanes got defensive stops and were able to better penetrate the lane, while Florida's shooting fell off, allowing Miami to chip away at the lead. The Hurricanes went on an 18-1 run at one point in the second half.
Florida had two opportunities to win late. With three seconds remaining, Carter, who had a team-high 21 points, was called for a charge as he drove to the basket. Then after Rodriguez hit one of two free throws with 2.3 seconds left, Michael Frazier's shot at the buzzer didn't fall for the Gators.
Miami shot 65.2 percent from the field in the second half (15-of-23) and 70 percent (7-of-10) from 3-point range. The Gators were outscored 48-34 in the second half.
'You can't give up what we gave up in the second half,' Donovan said. 'Rodriguez made some very difficult shots in the game, he really did. He was the difference in the game there.'
Contact Antonya English at aenglish@tampabay.com. Follow@TBTimes_Gators.
No. 8 Florida upset at home by Miami 11/17/14
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