NEW YORK (Interstat) — In a tense, back-and-forth battle at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, the Connecticut Huskies edged the Florida Gators 77-73 in a nonconference men’s basketball game that was not decided until the final seconds.

The Huskies, playing in front of a partisan crowd of 19,694, improved to 9-1 on the season, while the Gators fell to 5-4.

The game’s defining sequence came in the final half-minute. With Connecticut clinging to a 71-69 lead, Florida’s Boogie Fland, a Bronx native, drove for a layup to tie the game at 71 with just 13 seconds remaining. On the ensuing inbounds play, Connecticut’s Solo Ball was fouled by Fland, sending him to the free-throw line with seven seconds left.

Ball, who finished with 19 points, calmly sank the first free throw to put the Huskies up 72-71. He missed the second, but Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu secured the defensive rebound, giving the Gators a chance to win or tie with roughly five seconds left. However, Florida failed to get a shot off, committing a five-second violation on the inbounds pass under intense defensive pressure from Connecticut.

Jayden Ross was fouled on the ensuing inbounds for Connecticut and turned the ball over, giving Florida one last desperate chance with 0.7 seconds left, but Ball was fouled again. He made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second, leaving no time for a Florida response and sealing the four-point victory.

The contest was a tale of two halves defined by runs. Connecticut built a 39-32 halftime lead behind an efficient offensive start and a defense that forced nine Florida turnovers. The Huskies opened the game on a 6-0 run and later used a 7-0 spurt, capped by a Jaylin Stewart three-pointer, to take a 20-13 lead midway through the period. Florida, led by Xaivian Lee’s aggressive play, chipped away but could never overtake the Huskies before the break.

Florida emerged from halftime with renewed energy, opening the second half on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to one. The teams then traded blows, with neither able to build more than a five-point cushion for much of the period. Lee, a guard from Toronto, was the catalyst for the Gators, scoring 15 of his team-high 19 points after halftime. His driving layup with 19:43 left ignited the early run, and his playmaking kept Florida within striking distance.

Connecticut’s response often came from its balanced attack. Alex Karaban scored 13 points, including a critical three-pointer with just over seven minutes left that pushed the Huskies’ lead to 58-55. Tarris Reed provided a strong interior presence with 12 points, and Malachi Smith orchestrated the offense with nine assists.

Florida’s frontcourt duo of Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon provided consistent secondary scoring. Haugh scored 18 points, including a three-pointer with 1:04 remaining that brought Florida within 65-64. Condon added 14 points, four assists and three blocks, anchoring the defense. Chinyelu contributed eight points and was a force defensively with two blocks.

The game was a physical affair, with both teams reaching the bonus early in each half. Connecticut shot 22 free throws to Florida’s 21, with the final minutes becoming a parade to the foul line. The Huskies’ ability to execute in the closing moments, particularly from the charity stripe and with defensive pressure, proved the difference.

The loss is Florida’s second in a row by a narrow margin, following a one-point defeat at Duke on Dec. 2. The Gators will look to rebound on Saturday against George Washington in Sunrise, Florida. Connecticut, which has now won three straight, will host Texas on Friday.