Texas Edges TCU
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FORT WORTH, Texas – A driving bucket by sophomore Christian Gore with 45 seconds left pulled TCU within 57-54, but No. 15 Texas escaped Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Tuesday with a 59-54 decision.
Late in the game, freshman Brandon Parrish simply caught fire, outscoring the Longhorns to the tune of 7-3, which tied the game at 52-52 with 3:14 showing on the clock. During the stretch it appeared the Horned Frogs were well on their way to snapping the Longhorns’ six-game winning streak, gaining all the momentum on both ends of the court, but UT kept its poise and watched as Jonathan Holmes rattled off a three on the other end to regain the lead for good.
TCU, who led for a second-straight conference game at the half, moved to 9-12 overall and 0-9 in league play, while Texas improved to 18-4 overall and 7-2 in conference action.
The Frogs, who have now held 11 opponents to 65 points or less this season, limited UT to a dismal 31 percent from the floor, including 27.8 percent from behind the arc. Texas’ 31 percent marks a season-low for an opponent, while the Longhorns 18 made field goals fell one field goal shy of tying Texas Tech for the fewest made field goals in a single-game on the year.
Amric Fields had a solid night Tuesday against one of the premier front courts in
the Big 12. The junior finished the night with a team-high 16 points, while also posting eight boards, three assists and three blocks. Fellow junior Kyan Anderson chipped in with 12 points and seven assists, while Parrish totaled 10 points on 4-of-7 from the field.
The Longhorns were carried by Holmes who tallied a game-high 20 points and 16 rebounds. Cameron Ridley added 12 points on 4-of-10 from the field and nine rebounds.
Following a 4-0 run to open the second half by Texas, Fields tied the game at 24-24, banking home a jumper two minutes into the period. The junior continued to show his offensive game a few plays later, drilling a deep triple and two-straight from the line, which gave the Frogs a 29-26 lead with 16:43 showing on the clock.
The Longhorns would pull within one, but Parrish nailed a three at the 15:27 mark to keep the Frogs on the attack and ahead, 32-28. UT would score the next seven though to take a 35-32 advantage midway through the second half.
With Texas up 38-34 at about the 10-minute mark, Anderson dialed it up from deep, draining a trey ball to make it a one-point game at the 8:48 mark of the period. The Longhorns pushed their lead back to seven at 44-37, but the Frogs would have nothing of it, going on a mini 6-0 run to make it a 44-43 game with a little over five minutes remaining in the contest.
With the scoreboard 49-45 at the 4:30 mark, Parrish went to work down low, scoring a tough layup to inch the Frogs closer. The freshman then found the bottom of the net plus the foul to pull the Purple and White within one at 50-49 with 3:46 on the clock.
The two teams would trade three’s down the stretch as Parrish found pay-dirt from deep to tie it at 52-52, but Texas answered with a three on the other end to regain the lead slightly.
UT jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the game, but Karviar Shepherd stymied the attack, knocking down a mid-range jumper and two-straight from the charity stripe to pull the Frogs within three at the 15:26 mark.
The Longhorns pushed their lead to 13-4 until Fields drove by his defender and laid the rock off the glass for two, which inched the Frogs closer with 10:42 showing in the first stanza of action. The junior continued to go to work on the next possession, grabbing a loose ball and laying it in to make the scoreboard read 13-8 midway through the period.
By the time Hudson Price tickled the twine from deep, the Frogs were in the midst of a 7-0 run, which made the score 13-11 with 9:34 showing in the first half. A few minutes later, Anderson got into the act from deep, draining a triple, which pulled the Purple and White within one, but the Longhorns were able to answer on the other end.
Down the stretch some nice ball movement made it a 20-19 game as Anderson drove to the hole and found a wide open Gore who nailed a trey ball with 2:32 before halftime. Fields then tied the game at 20-20 on the next possession at the free throw line.
A late driving layup by Anderson allowed the Frogs to take a 22-20 lead into intermission.
TCU will next be in action at Iowa State on Saturday, beginning at 3:00 p.m. CT.
