Florida wins NCAA Tournament over Houston after erasing 12-point deficit in thrilling fashion

The Florida Gators have been crowned champions of the men s basketball NCAA Tournament after defeating the Houston Cougars - in thrilling fashion on Monday night The Gators had not won the national title on the hardwood since doing so back-to-back in and under Billy Donovan This is the program's third national title Florida battled the pesky Cougars all night coming back in the second half to win it all CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS COMAs expected both teams played suffocating defense throughout the minutes on the court and the final two minutes of the second half turned into a back-and-forth whirlwind The upshot boiled down to multiple defensive stops for the Gators starting with Will Richard s block on a jumper that was followed by a Joseph Tugler turnover after a battle underneath the hoop with left to play LATE FOUL ON DUKE'S COOPER FLAGG SENDS SOCIAL MEDIA INTO FRENZY AS BLUE DEVILS FALL IN FINAL FOURFlorida got L J Cryer Houston s leading scorer on the night with points to turn the ball over with Alex Condon recording the steal At the other end of the floor as Florida down - was desperate for a bucket Alijah Martin was fouled by Tugler and got to go to the free-throw line with the anticipated to take the lead with seconds left on the clock With ice in his veins Martin buried both charity stripe shots to take the - lead Needing yet another stop Florida s defense led Houston s Emanuel Sharp to dribble the ball off his knee and it went out of bounds with seconds left Denzel Aberdeen would eventually be fouled with the shot clock now turned off though he would only make one of his two free throw attempts So at - Houston had a chance to either tie the event or win it all with a three-pointer The best defensive possession of the night for Florida came at the perfect moment as Houston couldn t get their scripted play going and Sharp eventually went to heave a three with five seconds left but a good close-out had him drop the ball as he jumped Sharp wasn t allowed to touch the ball due to the double-dribble rule and with the clock ticking down a fight for the ball led to the final horn blowing and the Gators celebrating It was a tough look for the Cougars as they owned a -point lead at one point in the second half They were also the halftime leaders at - after holding Florida to just shooting including -of- from three-point territory Walter Clayton the Gators leading scorer all season with points averaged per championship was held scoreless in the first half as well But Clayton would eventually drop in the second half while Alex Condon points seven rebounds four steals and the club s leading scorer Will Richard with points eight rebounds and two assists were crucial in the comeback The Alamadome saw specific fantastic Final Four games and the men's basketball season was capped with one of the best battles between two No seeds in the national championship in contemporary memory The Cougars were close to securing the program's first-ever national championship but the Gators are back on top for the first time in nearly two decades after a hard-fought win Follow Fox News Digital s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter