Men’s Basketball: Horned Frogs upset Red Raiders on momentous night

TCU has won five of their last six games.

On the same night Desmond Bane’s jersey was forever enshrined in the Schollmaier, the TCU Horned Frogs emphatically knocked off the ninth-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders, 69-66. With Bane and several of his former teammates in attendance, the Jamie Dixon-led squad played with a heightened sense of urgency against rival Texas Tech.

The Red Raiders started hot, scoring seven straight within two minutes of action. The Horned Frogs would respond, as freshman David Punch knocked down his sixth three-pointer of the season to get the Frogs on the board. A Chance McMillian triple would put Texas Tech back up by seven before Vasean Allette scored his first bucket to narrow the Red Raiders’ lead. The Horned Frogs’ stout defense held the Red Raiders to two points for the next seven minutes of action. TCU took their first lead of the game behind a highlight worthy Jace Posey alley-oop jam.

TCU would go on to maintain an advantage for the rest of the first half. A three-pointer and three free throws by Trazarien White helped the Horned Frogs build a nine-point lead with four-and-a-half minutes remaining. The Red Raiders would cut the Horned Frogs’ lead to six, but a Noah Reynolds jumper and another Posey slam increased TCU’s edge to double-digits. Texas Tech converted one more basket before the end of the half to cut the margin to eight, 36-28.

The Horned Frogs and Red Raiders went back-and-forth as the second half began. The Red Raiders narrowed their deficit to three at one point. However, the Frogs bounced back. White knocked down two consecutive threes to increase TCU’s lead to eight with just over 12 minutes to go.

Following White’s mini-run, the Red Raiders caught up, scoring seven straight. With the Red Raiders on their heels, the Horned Frogs’ Allette connected on a mid-range jump shot to give TCU some breathing room, 52-49. Less than two minutes later, Texas Tech tied it up at 54 after a Darrion Williams triple. 40 seconds later, a JT Toppin free throw gave the Red Raiders the lead. The Red Raiders led by as many as five before four points from Noah Reynolds and a tough bank shot gave the Horned Frogs the lead with just over five minutes remaining.

Toppin scored the next four points, helping Texas Tech regain the lead. Subsequent Reynolds’ free throws would give TCU a three-point advantage with three-and-a-half minutes to go. A defensive battle would then ensue. Both squads would go four minutes without a field goal. Reynolds ended the draught, knocking down a jumper to seal the victory and give TCU a five-point lead with 11 seconds left. Texas Tech’s McMillian’s late triple gave the Red Raiders another chance. Then, a Reynolds free throw iced the game, giving TCU the 69-66 victory.

Following two straight losses against the Red Raiders, TCU won arguably their most important contest of the season. The Horned Frogs are now 15-11 and 8-7 in conference. After knocking off Texas Tech, TCU is 3-8 in Quad 1 games. Despite a lack of NCAA Tournament projections, the Horned Frogs are well on their way to earning a fourth consecutive tournament birth.

Reynolds and White led the Horned Frogs in scoring, contributing 16 points apiece. The two seniors combined for five three-pointers. Ernest Udeh Jr. enjoyed a resurgent game following back-to-back contests where he spent more time on the bench than the floor because of foul trouble. Udeh Jr. recorded his fifth double-double of the season, scoring 11 points, including four dunks, and grabbing 10 rebounds.

Although the Red Raiders shot a better percentage from the floor and three-point range, the Horned Frogs won the turnover and rebounding battles. TCU forced 13 Red Raiders turnovers and scored 17 points of Texas Tech mistakes.

Winners of five of their last six, TCU will travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bearcats at 11:00 a.m. CT on Saturday, February 22.