TCU Loses To Harvard
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska – TCU pulled within 13 down the stretch Saturday night, but couldn’t complete the comeback as Harvard claimed a 71-50 decision over the Horned Frogs in the finals of the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout.
With the loss, TCU, now 4-3 on the year, had its four-game winning streak snapped, while the Crimson (7-1) showed why they were an NCAA Tournament team a year ago and currently receiving votes in both national polls.
Despite the final deficit, the Horned Frogs continuously chipped away at the Harvard lead in the second half, outscoring the Crimson during the period, 25-23. In the end, TCU had too much hill to climb despite going on a 10-0 run midway through the second frame of play.
On the night, Kyan Anderson scored a season and game-high 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting. With his 20-point outing, Anderson now has seven 20-point games during his career. Senior Jarvis Ray was the only other Frog in double-figures with 13 points. Following the conclusion of the tournament, junior Amric Fields and Anderson were both named to the all-tournament team in Anchorage.
Ray got the Frogs going on the opening possession of the second half, knifing through the lane for a layup, but just like they did all night Harvard answered on the other end. On the very next possession, Shepherd powered home an old fashioned three-point play and the Purple and White appeared to have
some life two minutes into the second half.
At the 16:14 mark of the second frame of play, TCU was well on its way to working itself back into the game as Anderson drove to the bucket and scored a hard earned layup plus the foul. Nearly a minute later, the junior continued to try and rally the Frogs, darting into the lane for a layup to inch the Frogs closer at 55-35.
TCU was in the midst of a 9-0 run when Ray hit two-straight at the charity stripe to make it 55-39. The Purple and White would close the gap to 15 at the line, but Harvard halted the Frog attack with a triple with a little over 12 minutes remaining in the game.
Even though Harvard was up 60-41, Anderson would not let the Frogs go quietly, sinking four-straight at the charity stripe to make it a 60-45 game with 9:12 showing.
A beautiful finger role by Ray at the 7:25 mark brought the scoreboard to 60-47 and the Frogs just kept finding some success on the offensive end of the court. A couple of trips later, freshman Michael Williams dished the rock to Anderson on the run-out to pull the Frogs within 13 with a little over five minutes remaining in the game, but that was as close as TCU would get.
Harvard opened the game on a 10-2 run, but Ray halted the Crimson attack, nailing a jumper with 15:41 showing on the scoreboard. A few plays later, TCU’s defense led to offense as Fields swatted away a bucket on one end and then watched as Hill Jr. attached the glass for two on the other.
The Purple and White continued to battle at the halfway point, but Harvard pushed its lead to 21-6 at the 11:55 mark of the opening frame of play. TCU would not back down though as Anderson found Fields in the corner for a deep jumper to inch the Frogs closer. The Crimson responded with a three though to make it 28-10 with a little over nine minutes remaining in the first period.
Anderson, who scored seven-straight late in the half, appeared to spark the Purple and White for a brief moment at the 6:35 mark, tickling the twine to move the Frogs within 35-15, but Harvard continued on the attack, scoring consecutive buckets on the offensive end of the court.
Late in the half, TCU tried to make a dent in the scoreboard, going on an 8-2 run, which included a deep triple from Williams down the stretch to make the scoreboard read 48-25 at the break.
The Horned Frogs will return to action Thursday, Dec. 5 at Mississippi State. Start time is set for 6:00 p.m. CT.
