TCU Drops 71-54 Decision at New Mexico
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Sophomore forward Amric Fields scored 16 points and senior guard J.R. Cadot added 15, but New Mexico pulled away from TCU late during a 71-54 victory over the Horned Frogs Saturday at The Pit.
The loss, which snapped a two-game TCU winning streak, dropped the Frogs to 12-8 overall and 2-3 in the Mountain West standings. The Lobos improved to 17-4 overall and 3-2 in the MW.
TCU trailed by just seven points at halftime, 33-26, and was able to quickly climb to within five after Cadot recorded a steal and went coast-to-coast for a layup to open the second half. The Frogs would not be able to get any closer, as the Lobos answered by rattling off a 12-0 run featuring a pair of 3-pointers by guard Tony Snell to move on top by 17 points.
The Frogs were able to whittle down the deficit, scoring 17 of the game’s next 23 points. The squad hit four straight 3-pointers in the stretch by freshman guard Kyan Anderson, junior guard/forward Garlon Green, senior guard Hank Thorns and Fields. Cadot added a free throw and slam to bring his team back to within six points, 51-45, with 9:03 remaining before UNM dashed the Frogs’ hopes, posting a 20-9 scoring advantage to the final buzzer. Guard Jamal Fenton scored all nine of his points for the Lobos in the game’s final 12 minutes.
Cadot had a solid performance, adding nine rebounds to go along with his 15 points, including eight boards in the opening half alone. The Nassau, Bahamas, native shot 4-of-7 from the field and tied a career high by going to the free-throw line 12 times, making seven.
Fields was hot from the field, shooting 6-of-10 overall, and especially from beyond the arc, where he made 4-of-7 shots. The four treys marked a new career high, breaking his previous best of three. Thorns added eight points for the Frogs in addition to hitting a career milestone. He recorded his 500th career assist on a 3-pointer by Anderson with 15:00 remaining in the contest and finished the game with six helpers.
Snell paced the UNM scoring attack with a game-high 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor. He drilled 4-of-8 attempts from 3-point range and dished out four assists. Fellow guard Kendall Williams added 14 points, five assists and three steals. The Lobos ended the game shooting 48.3 percent overall after hitting at a 53.3 percent clip in the second half.
Forward Drew Gordon pulled down 11 rebounds while leading New Mexico to a 36-27 advantage on the glass.
The two teams traded baskets in the early going until the Lobos used a 10-0 run to gain a 22-16 advantage with 6:44 left in the opening half. The lead grew to nine points on a Snell trey with 4:48 remaining, but TCU answered with five straight points on layups by junior forward Adrick McKinney and Cadot, as well as a foul shot by Cadot.
A Fields 3-pointer with 2:04 remaining brought the Frogs back to within three points. Guad Phillip McDonald helped UNM finish the half strong by recording a pair of short jumpers inside the final 1:14, including one at the buzzer after collecting an offensive rebound, to give his squad a seven point edge at the break, 33-26.
TCU continues its Mountain West schedule in Fort Worth Wednesday when the Frogs take on Wyoming at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. Tip-off for the contest, which will be televised by The MountainWest Sports Network (The Mtn.), is scheduled for 7 p.m.
