STORRS, Conn. _ UConn did nothing to win on Sunday _ except earn it.
The Huskies didn't shoot well, made their share of mistakes. But they played defense and fought for every loose ball as if their season depended on it as, perhaps in the long run, it did. And they gave a capacity crowd at Gampel Pavilion a reason to believe, beating 15th-ranked Florida, 62-59, before 10,167 on Sunday.
Days after a terrible performance, a loss to St. Joseph's before a sparse crowd, the Huskies showed up with purpose, and despite a slow start, hung in and posted a signature early season win, their fourth in a row over Florida, dating back to the memorable win here on Dec. 2, 2013.
Christian Vital made the big play down the stretch, hitting two free throws and sealing the game with a steal. He and Tyler Polley each scored 15, and Josh Carlton had 13 with eight rebounds. Though Alterique Gilbert was just 3-for-13, he made a couple of big baskets and assists during the final minutes and helped lead the defensive effort.
UConn (2-1) got small contributions from many sources, off the bench, to hang onto the lead for 27:31, though never leading by more than eight.
Florida, which was ranked sixth at the start of the season, got 15 from Kerry Blackshear Jr., and 14 from Andrew Nembhard, but as a group were 5-for-20 on 3-pointers.
UConn shot 33% in the first half, 37 in the second, going 4-for-22 on threes. The Huskies had 38 rebounds to 37 for the Gators, but after a shaky start, with five turnovers in the first eight possessions, UConn turned it over only four more times.
The Huskies frittered away their first eight possessions and trailed 6-0, then staged an 11-0 run to take the lead, and spent the rest of the game fighting with old-school UConn tenacity to hold onto it, the sellout crowd eating it up.
UConn's chances increased as Blackshear, Florida's leading scorer and rebounder, got into foul trouble and finally fouled out with 4:37 to play, with the Huskies leading by five. What UConn could not do in this game, was shoot, and it kept them from pulling away. A bricked 3-pointer by Gilbert gave Florida a spark and Nembhard hit a three on the other end to bring the Gators within one, 54-53, with 3:25 to play, setting up the nerve-tingling, possession-by-possession finish.
Out of a timeout, Gilbert made a great pass to Carlton for a basket, but Carlton picked up his fourth foul on the other end. With UConn still up one, freshman Akok Akok came up with a huge defensive rebound with 41 seconds to play, and Florida was compelled to foul. Vital made both free throws with 17.3 seconds left, then came up with a steal, a ball Gilbert tipped, to rob the Gators (2-2) of a last shot, dribbling out the final five seconds as the crowd went wild.
UConn did not start the game much better than it did against St. Joseph's on the offensive end, but with some tenacious rebounding and defending, were able to keep Florida from pulling away. The Huskies went scoreless on their first eight possessions, turning it over five times, but trailed only 6-0 before Polley's put-back put them on the board after 5:59.
That ignited an 11-0 UConn run over the next 3 { minutes, with Vital scoring seven of the points, a step-back jumper giving the Huskies an 11-6 lead. The Gators couldn't hit from the perimeter, but were able to get in the paint, especially when UConn when to its bench, and regained the lead. But UConn was holding its own in rebounding against the bigger Gators, and had cut down the turnovers.
Polley's second-chance 3-pointer put the Huskies ahead, 21-18, with 3:55 left in the half. Florida didn't score over the last 3:39 as UConn again edged ahead by five, 25-20, at the break.
The Huskies started off sluggish in the second half, and Florida tied the game at 29 on Blackshear's 3-pointer, but Polley discovered the hot shooting touch, scoring eight points on three possessions to put the Huskies back up top, 35-29, with 16:09 left.
UConn continued to scrap for loose balls and built the lead to eight as the game headed down the stretch.
