Williams, Green Lead TCU Past Grambling State
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FORT WORTH—Senior forward Craig Williams and junior guard/forward Garlon Green both chipped in career-high point totals Thursday to help TCU snap a two-game skid during an 85-53 Horned Frog victory over Grambling State at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
The win moved TCU’s season record to 8-4, while Grambling fell to 0-9. The Frogs are now 5-1 at home this season.
TCU ran out to 15-point lead at the half, then put itsfoot on the gas from from there, outscoring the Tigers by 17 in the second half. The Frogs were efficient from the field, making an even 50 percent oftheir field-goal attempts, while also creating easy baskets in transition by forcing 22 Grambling turnovers. TCU turned the GSU miscues into a 27-8 advantage in points off turnovers and held the Tigers to only 33.9 percent shooting from the field.
Williams and Green both eclipsed the 20-point mark Thursday, as both Frogs passed senior guard Hank Thorns’ previous team-season high of 21 set during the Dec. 3 road win at Evansville. Williams scored a career-high 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting and Green totaled a personal-best 24 on an 8-of-13 effort from the field. Both Frogs also hit the glass, as Williams notched his first career double-double with 11 rebounds and Green added five boards.
Sophomore forward Amric Fields also managed to reach double digits with 11 points, while
senior guard J.R. Cadot pitched in nine. Cadot and junior forward Connell Crossland pulled in eight rebounds apiece, while Thorns dished out a season-best eight assists.
Grambling saw most of its offense come from guard Quincy Roberts, who scored a game-high 28 points on 10-of-26 field-goal attempts. He added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Fellow guard Xavier Rogers also scored in double figures with 11 points.
Green was on fire from the opening tip, as he staked the Frogs to a 12-7 lead in the first five minutes with 10 points. Following a pair of free throws, Green recorded his first slam off a downcourt feed from Thorns, then added 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions. He later recorded an oldfashioned 3-point play to push the lead to double-digits, 17-7, just 5:39 into the contest.
Grambling remained in the contest thanks to the hot hand of Roberts, who hit a trio of 3’s in the first seven and a half minutes.
TCU pushed the lead to 15 points with a 9-0 run fueled by a pair of layups down low by Williams. His second shot put the Frogs on top by a 28-13 count with 7:35 remaining in the half. The two squads traded baskets from there, and TCU led 41-26 at intermission.
Freshman guard Kyan Anderson stretched TCU’s lead to 20 points on a free throw early in the second half during a 6-0 Frog run that pushed the score to 48-26, while junior guard Nate Butler extended the advantage to 30 on a free throw with just over 10 minutes remaining.
TCU takes the next week off from competition during the holiday break. The squad returns to the DMC floor Dec. 31 in the second half of a TCU men’s-women’s hoops doubleheader. Following the Frog women’s contest vs. Texas Southern at 2 p.m., the men will take on Tulsa at 6 p.m. The game will be televised live by CBS Sports Network.
