TCU Takes Down ACU
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FORT WORTH, Texas -TCU had three players score in double-figures Tuesday night en route to a 71-64 victory over Abilene Christian at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
The Horned Frogs, now 1-2 on the season, were led by senior Jarvis Ray who scored a season and career-high 18 points on 7-of-10 from the field. He was followed by freshman Brandon Parrish who tallied a season-high 15 points on 7-of-11 from the floor. With his 15-point outing, the Arlington native has now scored in double-figures in three-straight games. Finally, sophomore Christian Gore rounded out the Horned Frogs double-digit scorers Tuesday with a career-high 14 points. The El Paso native did most of his damage at the line, going 12-of-14, which were both career-highs.
The Wildcats (0-5) were carried by Parker Wentz’s 14 points, while Harrison Hawkins tallied 13 points on 2-of-9 shooting.
TCU, who led by as many as 14 on the night, held ACU to 19-of-50 from the field, including 9-of-20 from three-point land. The Frogs, who did most of their damage off the bench, held a 34-14 advantage inside the paint Tuesday, while outscoring Abilene Christian off turnovers, 19-4.
Parrish got the Frogs going during the opening stages of the second half, crossing over his defender and kissing it off the glass to push the TCU advantage to 34-29. The Purple and White were in the midst of an 8-0 run when the freshman grabbed a rebound and scored a jumper to give the Frogs a 38-29 lead at the 17:24 mark of the period.
In all, the Frogs opened the half on a 15-4 run. During the run, TCU cranked up its defensive intensity, not allowing the Wildcats to score until the scoreboard read 16:21. On the offensive end, Ray, who
brought the crowd to its feet with a thunderous dunk a couple minutes into the period, banked in a triple from deep, which gave TCU a 45-31 advantage at the 15:21 mark.
The two teams would go back and forth the next couple of minutes as Karviar Shepherd, who led TCU with a game-high nine boards Tuesday, gave the Frogs a 54-42 lead with 11:14 showing on the clock, powering home the rock down low.
Abilene Christian continued to battle though, chipping away at the Frog lead to make it 56-55 in the closing minutes. Gore would end the Wildcats run at the five-minute mark, but it was short lived as ACU tied the game at 58-58 at the 4:59 mark.
Kyan Anderson came up big down the stretch, regaining the Frog lead at 62-58 with four-straight points. The jumper and two free throws marked the first points of the night for the junior from Fort Worth.
With TCU up 63-62, Gore calmly stepped to charity stripe and knocked down two-straight. On the other end, Abilene Christian knocked down one-of-two before Parrish followed his own shot and connected down low to give the Frogs a 67-63 lead with 1:17 showing on the scoreboard.
TCU never looked back, claiming a 71-64 victory Tuesday night.
The Frogs got going right out of the gate as Ray scored on a turn-around jumper on the opening possession. Charles Hill Jr. continued the offensive attack the very next trip down the court, attacking the rim for two at the 18:57 mark before ACU responded with a triple from the right side of the court to pull the Wildcats within one at 4-3.
The two teams would go back and forth the next couple of trips until Ray stole the rock and went coast to coast for the flush, which pulled the Frogs within one at 11-10 midway through the opening frame. Ray would regain the TCU lead at 15-14 at the 12:24 mark. During the stretch, the senior outscored ACU on his own, 7-3.
Michael Williams gave TCU an 18-14 lead at the 10-minute mark, tickling the twine from deep. The Wildcats continued to battle though, going on a 5-2 run to bring the scoreboard to 20-19 in slight favor of the Frogs.
ACU regained the lead in the closing minutes of the first half at 23-22, but Gore stepped to the line and drilled three-straight to regain the TCU advantage at 25-23. On the very next trip down the court, Williams drove to the bucket and scored a beautiful finger role to push the scoreboard to 27-23 in favor of the Frogs.
The freshman continued his offensive on-slaught with 1:30 showing on the clock, burying one from deep to give TCU a 32-29 advantage at the break. Williams and Gore combined to score 16 of the last 18 points of the period for the Frogs.
TCU will return to action Sunday, Nov. 24 at Washington State. Start time in Pullman, Wash., is set for 5:00 p.m. CT.
