Frogs Fall at Wyoming in MW Road Finale
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LARAMIE, Wyo.—TCU dropped a 71-59 decision to Wyoming in its regular season road finale Tuesday at the Cowboys’ Arena-Auditorium.
The setback dropped TCU’s overall season record to 17-12, while the squad fell to 7-6 in Mountain West play. Wyoming improved to 20-9overall and 6-7 in the MW standings.
TCU struggled all evening against an efficient Wyomingoffensive effort that saw the Cowboys shoot 53.8 percent from the field overall and commit only one turnover on the evening. UW finished the game with a 14-0 advantage in points off turnovers, which ended up being the major difference in the game.
Three Frogs finished in double figures, including senior guard J.R. Cadot, who scored a team-high 11 points and grabbed five rebounds. Senior guard Hank Thorns and freshman guard Kyan Anderson added 10 points each while combining for five 3-pointers on the night. Anderson matched his career high with three treys. Junior forward Adrick McKinney led TCU’s efforts on the glass with six rebounds.
Wyoming forward Leonard Washington was a handful down low for the Frogs the entire game, posting game highs of 23 points and 12 boards. He made 9-of-13 attempts from the field. Guard Francisco Cruz totaled 19 points, including 15 in the opening half while leading the Cowboys to a 10-point lead at intermission. Forward Adam Waddell chipped in 14 points and guard JayDee Luster dished out a game-high eight assists.
Wyoming recorded a near-flawless offensive performance in the first
half, shooting 57.1 percent overall in the period, while the Frogs failed to force even a single Cowboy turnover. UW made seven of its first nine field-goal attempts to run out to a 15-6 lead just over five minutes into the contest. It pushed the lead to double digits, 18-6, on a Washington 3-pointer two minutes later. Cruz fueled the Cowboys’ hot offensive start, totaling eight early points.
While Wyoming was scoring with relative ease, TCU struggled to get anything going offensively early. The Frogs hit only 3-of-9 shots from the field to start the game and gave away a pair of turnovers. ACadot layup and two buckets by forward Craig Williams were all TCU was able to manage in the game’s first seven-and-a-half minutes.
TCU eventually found its ground offensively, but Wyoming continued to execute at a high level on its own end of the court. Cruz made6-of-7 first-half attempts from the floor, and the Cowboys were able to score 24 of their 39 first-half points in the paint with the help of nine from Waddell and six by Washington.
The Frogs made a run at Wyoming early in the second half with a seven straight points that cut the lead to only five, 47-42, with 15:51 remaining. Thorns totaled five of the points on a pair of free throws and a 3 sandwiched around a McKinney dunk.
Wyoming answered right back with six straight points to move back in front by double digits. Waddell and Washington both recorded dunks during the stretch. TCU was unable to muster another legitimate threat for the remainder of the game, failing to climb closer than eight points of the Cowboys for the remainder of the contest.
TCU returns home to close out the regular season Saturday against No. 21 San Diego State visits Daniel-Meyer Coliseum on the Frogs’ Senior Night. Tip-off for the contest, which will be televised live by The MountainWest Sports Network (The Mtn.), is scheduled for 6 p.m.
