TCU Falls At West Virginia

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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A short handed TCU squad had three players score in double-figures Saturday, but dropped an 81-59 decision to West Virginia at WVU Coliseum.

The Horned Frogs, who trailed by only three at intermission after shooting a blistering 50 percent from the field in the first half, let Saturday’s contest slip away in the second stanza despite holding the Mountaineers scoreless for over five minutes of action in the opening stages of the period.

During the stretch, which lasted from the 18:32 mark until 13:02 showed on the clock, West Virginia went 0-for-6 from the field and had three turnovers. In the end, the Frogs couldn’t find enough answers on the offensive end of the court to overtake the WVU lead, pulling within only four during the stretch.

Trailing by only six with 12:13 left to go in the game, WVU jumped all over TCU, turning a six-point lead into a double-digit advantage in a matter of minutes by eventually wearing down a squad that now features only one player over 6-foot-7.

On the day, senior Jarvis Ray had a solid outing, recording his first career

double-double with 13 points and a new career-high 13 rebounds. Freshman Karviar Shepherd was also solid, going 6-of-11 from the field for a team-high 14 points, which marks the fourth-straight game in which the Dallas native has scored in double-figures. Senior Kyan Anderson rounded out the Purple and White notables Saturday, scoring 10 points.

West Virginia was carried by Eron Harris’ 18-point outing on 6-for-13 from the field. Juwan Staten followed, scoring 17 points on only 4-of-10 from the floor, while Nathan Adrian added 14 in the victory.

With the loss, TCU dropped to 9-19 overall and 0-16 in league play, while the Mountaineers improved to 16-13 on the season and 8-8 in conference action.

The two teams would open the second half going back and forth, but WVU was able to push its advantage to 44-40 before TCU locked down the Mountaineers on the offensive end.

West Virginia kept its composure though and responded in a big way, going on a 25-4 run to make it a 69-44 game at the midway point of the second half. Sophomore Christian Gore would stymie the Mountaineer attack, scoring five-straight with a little over six minutes to go in the period, but it was too late as the Frogs couldn’t make-up the difference.

Shepherd got the Frogs going right out of the gate, knocking down a mid-range jumper to give the Purple and White an early 2-0 lead. By the time the freshman connected on a turn-around floater inside the lane, TCU had jumped out to a 6-1 advantage three minutes into the game.

WVU would battle back to pull within one before Anderson tickled the twine from deep to make it a 9-5 ballgame at the 17:16 mark of the opening frame of play. A few plays later, the junior went back to work, scoring an old fashioned three-point play to give the Frogs a 13-7 lead with 14:59 showing on the scoreboard.

A 9-2 run allowed the Mountaineers to take a two-point lead at 16-15, but Anderson quieted the crowd and the run midway through the half, finding the bottom of the net off a pull-back jumper, which regained the Frog advantage at 17-16.

The two teams would go back and forth the next couple of trips, but WVU was able to push its lead to 30-21 behind some timely three’s before Ray drained a bucket from the corner to inch the Frogs closer at the 6:45 mark. On the very next possession, Shepherd powered home a three-point play and the Purple and White were able to stymie the Mountaineer attack, pulling within 32-31 a few moments later.

By the time Anderson found the cutting freshman for a tough layup with 3:26 left to go in the half, TCU was in the midst of a 12-2 run to storm back and take a 33-32 lead. West Virginia regained the momentum slightly to escape the first half with a 39-36 advantage at the break.

TCU will continue conference action on the road at Texas next Wednesday. Start time is set for 7:00 p.m. CT from Austin.

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