Frogs Fall on Road to #17 San Diego State
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SAN DIEGO—Freshman guard Kyan Anderson led TCU with a career-high 22 points Saturday night, but No. 17 San Diego State proved to be too much on both the glass and the scoreboard, grabbing an 83-73 victory over the Horned Frogs at the Aztecs’ Viejas Arena.
The setback dropped TCU’s overall season record to 13-9 and its Mountain West mark to 3-4. SDSU improved to 20-3 overall and 6-1 in the MW.
TCU started the contest fast, shooting better than 60 percent from the floor in the first half to build an early lead, but San Diego State took advantage of a sloppy Frog effort midway through the opening period before coasting to victory in the second period. The Frogs turned the ball over 16 times, including 12 times in the first half alone, while the Aztecs alsodominated the backboard, grabbing a 35-21 rebounding advantage overall and a 15-5 edge on the offensive end.
Anderson made 6-of-9 field-goal attempts, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, and also went a career-best 7-for-7 at the free-throw line. He led TCU to solid days in both categories, as the squad finished 12-of-24 on 3-point attempts and 15-of-16 at the charity stripe.
Senior guards J.R. Cadot and Hank Thorns also found success from the outside, making a trio of 3-pointers each while finishing with 15 and nine points, respectively. Thorns dished out a team-high four assists while moving into the No. 9 position on TCU’s career assist list (324), although he contributed six turnovers to the Frog team total.
San Diego State forward Jamaal Franklin put on a display for the sold-out Viejas Arena, recording a double-double featuring game highs of 24 points and 11 rebounds. Guard James Rahon hit four 3-pointers while finishing with 16 points. Guard Chase Tapley and forward DeShawn Stephens also reached double figures with
14 and 13 points, respectively.
TCU, hampered by slow starts for much of the MW season, reversed its fortunes to begin Saturday’s game, making eight of its first nine shots from the field, including a 4-for-5 showing from beyond the arc. Cadot, whose previous single-game high was two 3-pointers, drilled three treys in the first five minutes against the Aztecs, while Thorns added another. Fields sank another triple just over seven minutes into the game to give the Frogs a seven-point edge, 23-16.
Overall, TCU experienced its most successful shooting first half of the season and its second-best overall, making 14-of-23 (60.9percent) of its field-goal attempts.
Things quickly turned in SDSU’s favor, as TCU started helping out the Aztecs on the scoreboard by turning the ball over. The Frogs totaled 12 turnovers in the opening period, leading to a 12-4 scoring advantage for the home team. A 14-2 SDSU run followed Fields’ trey highlighted by six points from Jamaal Franklin, four by Stephens and a Rahon 3-pointer. The Frogs were able to manage only a long Anderson jumper in a stretch of more than six-and-a-half minutes during the spurt.
Stephens took over the paint late in the first half, recording four more baskets inside. Rahon finished off the Aztec scoring with another trey to push the lead to nine points, 46-37, with only a minute remaining. SDSU finished the first half shooting 53.1 percent overall whileposting a 24-12 scoring edge in the paint.
The Aztecs kept it going early in the second half, scoring the first six points for a 13-point advantage. The lead grew to as many as 18 points with four minutes remaining after back-to-back baskets by Stephens and Franklin (3-pointer).
TCU takes a break from its Mountain West schedule for its final non-conference game of the regular season Wednesday, as the Frogs travel to Dallas to lace up against Metroplex rival SMU. Tip-off from the Mustangs’ Moody Coliseum is scheduled for 7 p.m.
