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With under a minute to play in overtime, Tre Mann slid around a screen at the top of the key. He feinted towards the basket before sliding back behind the three-point line and lofting up a shot, one fluid motion as Wilson found nylon.

Virginia Tech led most of the game Friday, but Florida overcame a 10-point deficit and a late flurry to hold on for a 75-70 win to move to the second round of March Madness.

As the opening match for the entire tournament, the Friday game got off to a poor start for Mike White and the Gators. For a second consecutive game, opposing ball movement kept the Florida defense on its toes and off-balance. The Hokies buried a few threes early, including a trio from sophomore Hunter Cattoor, and shot out to a 22-11 lead to start the game.

Florida didn’t allow the lead without a fight and a rally sparked from an unlikely place. Scottie Lewis, the sophomore wing whose headlines mostly focused on his disappointing second year, began to garner attention for another reason. He buried the Gators first three of the game, then made a layup and forced a turnover to start a 14-5 run that cut the Hokies’ lead to just one point.

However, Virginia Tech closed strong in the closing minutes to take a 33-27 lead to the locker room after the first half.

Tyree Appleby got the Gators started in the second half with a steal and a fast break layup, but had to leave the game midway through after Virginia Tech big man Keve Aluma’s elbow caught him in the forehead on a fluke pass. Appleby bled freely on the floor and the Gators announced his forehead required stitches in the locker room.

As the game drew towards its conclusion, three names kept flashing over and over again: Lewis, Colin Castleton, and Virginia Tech’s Nahiem Alleyne.

For most of the game, Alleyne kept the Gators at bay. Big shot after big shot kept the Hokies a possession in front for much of the second half as it felt Alleyne could take on the entire Florida team by himself. He finished the game with more points than anyone on either bench with 28.

Lewis kept his resurgance going with big baskets, and big man Castleton excelled in the second half once again.

15 of Castleton’s team-high 19 points came after halftime as he made contested layup after contested layup, getting to the line and sending a charge through the Florida bench over and over again. With about five minutes to play, he buried a pair of free throws to give the Gators their first lead since the opening minutes of the game.

A minute later, Scottie Lewis hit a jumper to put the Gators up four, part of a 15-point renaissance for the sophomore. When Mann hit his first dagger three, a step back from the left wing with less than two and a half minutes to play, Florida led by 5 and owned all momentum, the hammer coming down at the perfect time on a 10-0 run.

The game appeared over, but with less than two seconds to play, Alleyne found space and delivered a game-tying three to force overtime, the two teams deadlocked at 64 apiece.

Overtime was slow but the Gators began to overwhelm the Hokies as both Virginia Tech forwards fouled out. Castleton kept establishing himself, now more freely without Virginia Tech’s best big men to challenge him.

Then, with 23 seconds to play and Florida leading by one, the Mann dagger sealed the deal and cemented the 5-point victory.

Florida advances to the second round, likely securing a date with Big 10 runner-up Ohio State, the two seed.