TCU Men Lose Big 12 Opener
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FORT WORTH–TCU staged a late comeback attempt but fell short Saturday, dropping a 62-53 decision to Texas Tech in its inaugural Big 12 game at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
The setback, which snapped the Horned Frogs’ season-high three-game winning streak, dropped the team’s record to 9-5 overall. Texas Tech improved to 8-4 overall.
TCU trailed the Red Raiders by 16 points with just over five minutes remaining before rallying. The Frogs scored 12 of the game’s next 13 points to climb to within five inside the final minute, but the squad was unable to get any closer. Tech closed the game out at the free-throw line, going 2-for-2 on successive trips inside the final 35 seconds to hold off the Frogs.
Sophomore forward Devonta Abron led TCU with a game-high 16 points, while he added seven rebounds and a career-high four blocked shots. Abron paired with senior teammate Adrick McKinney to give the Frogs a physical presence inside against the Red Raiders. TCU posted a 35-30 rebounding edge, its second-largest of the season, while pulling down a season-best 17 offensive boards.
McKinney added eight points and seven rebounds. Fellow senior forward Connell Crossland also
went to work on the glass, grabbing a game-high nine boards to go along with eight points. Senior guard Garlon Green totaled nine points.
Three players in double figures led a balanced Texas Tech offensive attack. Forward Jaye Crockett posted a team-high 13 points, while guard Dusty Hannahs and forward Jordan Tolbert added 12 and 11 each. Hannahs hit 4-of-5 attempts from 3-point range to lead Tech to a 6-of-10 team effort from beyond the arc.
TCU found it tough going on offense all evening against an athletic Red Raider lineup, finishing the contest shooting only 35.2 percent from the floor compared to 47.9 percent for Tech. The Frogs went only 1-of-7 from 3, with the lone bucket coming from Green. Tech was able to hold TCU’s top two scorers on the season, sophomore guard Kyan Anderson and Green, to only 3-of-22 shooting from the floor overall.
Tech took control of the contest midway through the second half, rattling off a 12-2 run to grab an 11-point advantage, 21-10. Guard Ty Nurse scored his only five points of the game during the stretch, while Crockett finished the spurt off with a slam at the 9:07 mark.
The Frogs closed the gap back to within four points with the help of an 11-3 run of its own late in the period. Abron totaled a pair of layups, while McKinney added a short jumper with 2:26 remaining to cut the edge to 26-22. Tech closed out the half with a big 3 from Hannahs just before the buzzer to move back up by seven points, 29-22.
The key stretch of the game proved to be an eight-minute run midway through the second half that saw Tech outscore TCU by a 20-8 margin and move on top by 16, 57-41. A pair of 3-pointers bookended the run, the first by guard Trency Jackson and the last dagger by Hannahs with 5:18 remaining. TCU’s late rally followed, but the Red Raiders’ large lead proved to be too much to overcome in the end.
TCU leaves Fort Worth for its first Big 12 road game Wednesday when the squad travels to Stillwater, Okla., for a 7 p.m. matchup with Oklahoma State. The Big 12 Network will televise the contest live from the Cowboys’ Gallagher-Iba Arena.
