(Photo/Gregg Ellman )
FORT WORTH, TX – TCU (8-2) won against Prairie View A&M (1-4) 66-61 Wednesday night in Schollmaier Arena.
RJ Nembhard did not play in tonight’s matchup due to injury. The loss of Nembhard on the offensive end was clear. It created some struggles for TCU’s offense, they shot 36 percent from the floor the first 15 minutes of play and had six turnovers.
On the other end of the court, things were no different. Their defense was lackadaisical under the basket letting Prairie View A&M get second chance opportunities on offense. Kevin Samuel was clearly the bigger body in the paint but was getting put to the test by the Panthers. They were double teaming and triple teaming him the whole game, making it hard for TCU to dish the ball into him.
The first half was very ugly for TCU. The Horned Frogs shot 31 percent from the floor and 28 percent from beyond the arc. That is the lowest shooting percentage they have had this season.
TCU went into the locker room down 30-29.
The second half was very sloppy for both teams. The Horned Frog were struggling shooting the ball and had a number of turnovers. The Panthers continued to foul, sending TCU to the free throw line. The Horned Frogs went 17-of-30 from the line.
Head Coach Jamie Dixon said, “We need to make more free throws. We practice them all the time in practice and we will continue to practice them until we have a better free throw percentage.”
The Horned Frogs went up 60-49 with five minutes left in regulation. The Panther came back and cut TCU’s lead down to four. The Horned Frogs held out the final three minutes of play to take the victory.
TCU is heading to Kansas State on Saturday to take on the Wildcats at 1:00 p.m.
TCU Leaders
Mike Miles: 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists
Kevin Easley: 14 points, and 2 rebounds
Kevin Samuel: 12 points and 14 rebounds
